LANSING, MI (WTVB) – The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget reported on Wednesday that the state’s unemployment rate went up in October by two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.5 percent.
They also reported the number of people in the state’s workforce went down by about 2,000.
Michigan’s October unemployment rate was four-tenths of a percentage point above the national rate but a half percentage point below the state’s October 2016 rate of five percent.
Despite the increase in the jobless rate, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives Director Jason Palmer put a positive on the latest numbers. He says Michigan’s jobless rate has gone down moderately for the first 10 months of 2017 compared to last year while payroll job gains remain steady.
Branch County’s unemployment rate in September was 4.6 percent.
