November unemployment numbers

Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates in November declined in 14 of Michigan’s 17 major labor market regions. According to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget, jobless rates increased seasonally in the states three northern most labor market regions. Total employment rose in most areas over the month, while labor force levels declined seasonally in the majority of regions. Spokesman Michael Williams says November fluctuations were mostly minor in the southern part of the state and seasonal in the northern areas with job cuts in tourism-related industries and construction somewhat offset by gains in retail trade. The Ann Arbor area had the state’s lowest jobless rate last month at five-point-three percent while northeast lower Michigan had the highest at 11-point-seven percent. Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was 8.8 percent.  (MRN)