The seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate in Michigan ticked up in November.
The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget announced Thursday the November unemployment rate statewide was 4.8% with 11 of 17 labor market areas showing increases for the month.
Kinexus data resource manager Ryan Thyfault tells us the statewide picture was mostly mirrored in Southwest Michigan with the Niles-Benton Harbor MSA showing a November unemployment rate of 4.9%. That was up from 4.8% the previous month and up from 3.3% in November of 2023. Thyfault says one sector led the way in job losses.
“The recent increase in unemployment at the regional and statewide levels has been fueled primarily by layoffs in the manufacturing sector,” Thyfault said. “The manufacturing sector has been in a bit of a slump in recent years as inflation has weighed on consumers’ pocketbooks and stunted demand for durable goods, and some manufacturers have responded to the downturn by reducing headcounts.”
Thyfault says manufacturing in the region lost 500 jobs from November of 2023 to November of 2024. A bright spot was the public sector.
“It led the pack with over 800 public sector jobs added since last November with a lot of those being in public education.”
Thyfault says leisure and hospitality saw job growth throughout the year, along with service jobs. While he says there’s been a decrease in manufacturing jobs, it’s not at the recession level and 2025 is so far shaping up to show similar employment trends as 2024.
Out of Michigan’s 83 counties, Berrien stood at 36th for employment with its 4.9% unemployment rate in November. Van Buren County was ranked 41st for employment, with unemployment at 5%, while Cass County ranked 29th in employment with an unemployment rate of 4.7%.
