The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Labor market keeps steady
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: May 31, 2007
Despite an ever-changing volatile economy throughout the state coupled by rising gas prices, seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates decreased over the month of April in all of Michigan's 17 major labor market areas, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
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"Many areas in the state reported typical seasonal labor market patterns in April," said Rick Waclawek, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives in a written statement. "In the southern part of the state, seasonal labor market withdrawal pushed jobless rates down slightly as fewer individuals were in the job market looking for employment."
According to the DLEG, from March to April, jobless rate reductions in the 17 areas ranged from .2 to 1.5 percentage points with an average decline of a half percentage point. The largest of the seasonal declines occurred in the northeast lower region of the state and the northwest lower region, with the rates in those areas falling by 1.5 and .8 percentage points respectively.
A report released by the DLEG finds from March to April, total employment levels declined in 14 areas. The majority of the state's regions posted only minor changes over the month; however, the Ann Arbor area registered drops of over one percent.
"There really hasn't been much of a change as far as unemployment rates in the Manchester and Ann Arbor areas," Mark Reffitt, DLEG regional economic analyst for the Ann Arbor area, said. "There was some seasonal pick up of construction and hospitality jobs. Those fields usually pick up some steam around this time of year. For the most part, the unemployment numbers in the area have remained flat.
"Employment trends in this area moved upward in the first pat of the decade and then plateaued and tapered off sometime in 2004."
Reffitt said overall, the labor market in the Ann Arbor area has remained stable.
"Certainly the state's economy has seen struggles in some areas like the auto industry," he said. "The state has put all its eggs in one basket with the auto industry. When it was good, jobs were going up. Now that it's not so good, we're seeing the effects of that."
According to the DLEG report, in Washtenaw County, the total number of unemployed workers decreased from 8,900 in March to 8,400 in April, roughly 4.5 percent of those employed in the county. The county has the lowest unemployment rate than any other county in the state.
Reffitt said although other areas of the state are worse off, the state's overall economy has not hit a critical level yet.
"I don't like to quantify things by saying whether or not we're in a crisis situation," he said. "I do know the exaggerated reports of people leaving the state in droves are simply not true."
Reffitt said future growth in the job market depends a lot on the automobile industry.
"Economies usually work themselves out in the long run," he said. "However, in our instance, a lot hinges on what will happen with the auto industry."
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