County unemployment numbers up

The January unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by six-tenths of a percent compared to a month earlier.
The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 3.7 percent January unemployment rate was higher than December’s 3.1 percent.
January’s unemployment rate, however, was 1.7 percent less than the same month one year earlier, when the figure was 5.4 percent.
St. Joseph County remained below the state unemployment average, which was 5.1 percent in January.
The agency said a cut in seasonal employment, construction, education, and leisure and hospitality, contributed to the region’s higher rate for the month.
At 3.5 percent, Kalamazoo County had the region’s lowest unemployment rate in January, while Van Buren County had the highest, at 6.1 percent.