WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
May’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was significantly lower than the previous month, but still higher than usual due to jobs impacted by COVID-19.
The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which showed the county’s drop in unemployment, was released earlier this month.
St. Joseph County’s 19.5 percent unemployment rate for May was down from 30.3 percent in April, the first full month of jobs impacted by coronavirus.
With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, all 83 Michigan counties registered sharp jobless rate hikes in April but most saw a decrease in May.
Kalamazoo County featured the lowest unemployment rate in the region in May, at 15.3 percent. For the second month in a row, St. Joseph County had the highest unemployment rate in the region for the month.
Cass County’s unemployment rate for the month was 16.8 percent while Branch County’s figure was 19.2 percent.
