Michigan unemployment rate dips to 4.7 percent in May

Michigan’s jobless rate dipped in May to 4.7 percent, the lowest since March 2001.

The state’s seasonally adjusted rate was one-tenth of a percentage point below the 4.8 percent rate in April, the state reported Wednesday.

The 4.7 percent jobless rate matches the national rate.

Total employment was unchanged, while the labor force and number of unemployed both declined by 6,000.

It’s the first drop in the workforce since June 2015 and the first time in 2016 that the total employment level didn’t grow.

Over a year, though, the number of unemployed in Michigan declined by 32,000, or 12.4 percent — slightly less than the 13.7 percent reduction nationwide.

Gov. Rick Snyder says “it’s clear that Michigan is moving in the right direction” but “there is more to do.”  (AP)