Michigan’s combined jobless rate for October and November is 5%, which is a slight improvement from September — but overall it paints a complex picture on where the state’s economy might be headed.
The one-tenth of a percentage point decrease over two months would seem to be pretty good news since 5% is still considered healthy unemployment. Two separate surveys that make up the latest state jobs report show a small increase in employment, but that’s offset by an even larger number of people exiting the workforce, said Michigan Labor Market Information Director Wayne Rourke.
“The truth is probably somewhere in the middle from these surveys, and the middle is pretty flat growth for the state over the long term here,” Rourke told Michigan Public Radio.
University of Michigan economist Gabriel Ehrlich said small ups and downs appear to be the new normal.
“We have to get used to these relatively slow growth rates,” he said. “Five percent unemployment, it’s still a relatively low unemployment rate in the grand scheme of things. We have a slow-growing population and an aging workforce. That’s going to put a speed limit on job growth.”
Rourke agreed that people aging out of the workforce is certainly a contributing factor.
The report is missing one month’s data due to the federal government shutdown in October, which also delayed the survey. The next jobs report for December will come out later this month.
