State reports Michigan’s June jobless rate dips but total employment largely unchanged

Michigan’s June unemployment rate dips slightly

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s unemployment rate continued its gradual decline last month, although total employment remained largely unchanged, officials said Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted figure for June released by the state Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth is 13.2 percent, down four-tenths of a percentage point from May.

Unemployment declined by 21,000 people in June but total employment increased by only 1,000 workers, meaning 20,000 fewer people were active in the state’s job market, according to labor department officials. That marked the first monthly dip in the labor force this year.

Total non-farm payroll jobs increased by about 3,000 in June from the previous month. Manufacturing jobs also rose by 3,000 month-on-month and 30,000 year-on-year.

The state’s jobless rate in June was seven-tenths of a percentage point below the 13.9 percent rate in June 2009. The state rate also has dropped by more than 1 percentage point since December 2009, but the rate remains well above levels seen before the recession, the labor department said in a release.

“What we really need to see is the employment go up significantly,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the department’s Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “That’s when we can really say that things are on the mend.”

U.S. unemployment decreased two-tenths of a percentage point to 9.5 percent during the same month-to-month period. In May, Michigan dropped the dubious distinction of having the nation’s highest unemployment rate — a place it held for four years.