LANSING, MI (WTVB) – After six straight months of declines, the unemployment rate in Branch County inched up slightly in November to four-point-three percent according to data released on Tuesday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.
The Branch County unemployment rate was four-point-one percent in October.
Before the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were felt on the state economy, Branch County’s jobless rate was at 3-point-4 percent last March. It has been in a steady decline since unemployment spiked at 23 percent in April.
As for neighboring counties, Hillsdale County was at four-point-one percent while St. Joseph County was at four-point-three percent and Calhoun County was at five-point-two percent.
The state reported on Tuesday not seasonally adjusted jobless rates decreased in 14 of Michigan’s 17 major labor market areas between October and November. But Wayne Rourke from the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiative said, “the regional unemployment rate reductions in November were often due to fewer persons active in the labor market. Payroll jobs generally rose in November in retail trade and declined in leisure and hospitality across Michigan metro areas.”
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