County unemployment goes up

July’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was 1.3 percent higher than the previous month.
The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 5.1 percent July unemployment rate marked an increase from June’s 3.8 percent.
St. Joseph County was above the state unemployment average, which was 4.9 percent in July.
The agency said another round of summer layoffs of support staff in the education sector impacted the majority of the counties within the region. Also, lower numbers of employed and jobseekers were recorded in July than a year ago, according to the agency.
Allegan County featured the lowest unemployment rate in the region for the month, at 4.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Hillsdale County had the region’s highest, at 5.9 percent.
Cass County’s unemployment rate for the month was 5.1 percent, a 1.1 percent increase from June.