Shiawassee Times

While Michigan continues to run a high 8.7% jobless rate, a release from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget recently revealed that job growth is still slow compared to even a month ago.

In June the state saw 266,000 jobs added to the economy, according to Michigan.gov. But July only saw 103,000 jobs added to the state’s economy.

“Michigan has now recovered about half of the coronavirus-related job cuts that occurred in March and April 2020,” said Jason Palmer, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, according to Michigan.gov. “Payroll employment has increased by about 540,000 over the three-month period of May through July 2020.”

At the same time, the nation was experiencing gains overall, with the U.S. jobless rate falling from 11.1% in June to 10.2% in July, according to Michigan.gov. But Michigan remained ahead of the national curve with its 8.7% jobless rate.

“Michigan labor force estimates in July 2020 were difficult to evaluate, particularly due to a sharp estimated reduction in the number of unemployed,” stated Michigan.gov. “This monthly drop exceeded other indicators, such as the decline in the number of continued unemployment insurance claimants.”

Instead of looking at the number of people still struggling to find work in an economy devastated by coronavirus-related restrictions, the release suggests that the state’s economy should be evaluated in terms of the average number of people employed over a three-month period.

The number of people who hold jobs in the state averaged from May to July was 652,000 fewer than the pre-COVID-19 economy in February, according to Michigan.gov. In comparison, the the number of people counted as unemployed in the state averaged 543,000 above the February numbers.