Some Good News; Unemployment Numbers Getting Better

As the year unlike any other ends, there are some hopeful signs. So many people lost their jobs throughout the year, especially at the beginning of pandemic lock down and shutdown, that labor statistics skyrocket with bad numbers. But as we began to weather the storm some, those employment (or, unemployment) numbers have stabilized and have begun to return to where they were before 2020 became the year from hell.

Overall, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says "not seasonally adjusted jobless rates decreased in 14 of Michigan’s 17 major labor market areas between October and November. But there is an asterisk.

“The regional unemployment rate reductions in November were often due to fewer persons active in the labor market,” said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Payroll jobs generally rose in November in retail trade and declined in leisure and hospitality across Michigan metro areas.”

Now that the disastrous unemployment numbers have settled down some, we can see where we are year to year. Those numbers are up, but not nearly as bad as we might have expected.

Jobless rates rose over the year in all 17 Michigan labor market regions with a median rate increase of 1.4 percentage points. The Detroit metro region exhibited the largest over-the-year rate gain of 5.4 percentage points since November 2019. - Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget

Total employment was down in 12 regions, but Battle Creek was one area that saw employed go up by 0.9%.

The November numbers aren't great, they're not a disaster. They show we have a ways to go to get back to where we were.