Michigan unemployment remains steady, still third-worst nationally

Desmond Milligan · August 20

(The Center Square) – Michigan’s unemployment is still the third highest nationally, according to the July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With Michigan’s unemployment rate coming in at 5.3%, California and Nevada are the only states with higher unemployment rates.

Currently, California’s unemployment rate is 5.5% and Nevada’s unemployment rate is 5.4%.

“Michigan’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in July at 5.3% as small decreases in employment and unemployment caused a minor reduction in the state’s labor force,” said Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for Michigan’s Center for Data and Analytics.

This came as the national unemployment rate increased by 0.1% to 4.2% in July.

Michigan’s unemployment rate has been consistently above the national average for the past few months, despite declining slightly from its June high of 5.4%.

Though the unemployment rate remained steady, Michigan labor force decreased by 5,000 to 5 million. That is 61.6% of Michigan’s population. According to a July report from Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, this is the lowest workforce seen in the state since August 2024. It is also lower than the national average of 62.2%.

This employment decrease of 0.1% mirrored the nationwide employment decrease of 0.2%.

While unemployment has been increasing nationally over the past year, unemployment in Michigan has fared significantly worse.

As of July of last year, the total number of unemployed Michiganders was 244,798. That number is now 270,369. So, while the national unemployment total increased by 2%, Michigan’s increased by more than 10%.

Despite fears of government cuts, Michigan’s government sector recorded the greatest over-the-month job gain, with its employment increasing by 3,000 in July alone.

Since July 2024, the government sector saw the second highest growth of any job sector with 13,000 jobs added. Only private education and health services outpaced it with 22,000 jobs added.

Opinions have been split on what is causing Michigan's high unemployment, with Democrats pointing to issues like tariffs, while Republicans lay the blame on economic policies pushed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

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