Unemployment rate in Michigan to rise for the first time in 2024

The unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in June. It is the first time this year that the number of unemployed has increased.

According to the latest data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, Michigan’s unemployment rate over the past four months was 3.9 percent.

The department observes the following trends in the labor market:

According to the data, Michigan’s manufacturing sector lost about 3,000 jobs, leading the way in monthly job losses. Retail, hospitality and leisure, trade, transportation and utilities, and financial services also lost jobs in June. Meanwhile, professional and business services and health care added a total of 4,000 jobs, representing “modest gains,” according to the department.

During the year, 21,000 new jobs were created in the public sector. The state’s construction sector recorded an increase of 7.6 percent, “the most notable employment growth in the sector during the year,” according to the ministry.

“Michigan’s unemployment rate rose for the first time in 2024, reaching the U.S. rate of 4.1%,” Wayne Rourke, director of the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics’ labor market information division, said in a statement Thursday. “The labor force and the number of wage and salary earners remained stable in June.”

The national unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 4.1% in June. Over the course of the year, the U.S. unemployment rate rose by half a percentage point. The nationwide rate has increased by 0.4 percentage points since June 2023.