Unemployment
Highest unemployment, weakest benefits in the Midwest
Michigan has the highest unemployment in the Midwest yet it has the weakest benefits on key measures, a League report concludes.
Read the report: Falling Short: Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Compares Poorly with Other States
Read the League’s statement on Gov. Snyder workforce address.
Read testimony on SB806
Labor Day Report 2011
Unemployment continues to be very high in Michigan, although it has not been the highest in the nation since April 2010. Michigan’s unemployment rate dropped from an annual average of 13.3 percent in 2009 to 12.2 percent in 2010.
See the report Long-Term Unemployment Hits High Water Mark; Long Job Searches Underscore Need for Postsecondary Education. Aug. 30, 2011 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Heading South: U.S.-Mexico trade and job displacement after NAFTA
As of 2010, U.S. trade deficits with Mexico totaling $97.2 billion had displaced 682,900 U.S. jobs. Of those jobs, 116,400 are likely economy-wide job losses because they were displaced between 2007 and 2010, when the U.S. labor market was severely depressed. From the Economic Policy Institute. May 3, 2011.
Distressed Michigan: Unemployment rate for African American more than double that of whites
Much of the economic media coverage of unemployment focuses on the “topline” national average. The United States, however, is a large country with a diverse population, and this overall average masks some significant disparities in the unemployment rates of different states and various races and ethnicities. Some groups of workers can have remarkably different unemployment rates depending on their state’s labor market. From the Economic Policy Institute. April 28, 2011.
Fact Sheet: Future Unemployment Benefits Shortened for Michigan Families
On March 23, 2011, the Michigan Legislature voted to revise state unemployment benefits, cutting the regular period of state-paid unemployment from 26 to 20 weeks. This was included as part of a bill offering a technical fix to allow 35,000 workers to receive extended Unemployment Insurance benefits. Gov. Snyder signed the bill March 28. Read the fact sheet. March 2011.
Labor Day Report 2010: Long-term Unemployment is at a Crisis Level The long-term unemployed — those who have been out of work 26 weeks or longer — make up a growing share of the jobless ranks in Michigan, with higher rates among minority workers.
Read the report
Read the press release
2009 Labor Day Report: Racial Wage Gap Grows in the Workplace Too many Michigan jobs can’t support families This is the Michigan League for Human Services’ third annual Labor Day Report. In this issue, we give special attention to racial disparities in the wages, unemployment and educational level of Michigan’s workers.
Read the report
Michigan Needs to Modernize Its Unemployment Insurance System “A report released today provides a background of Michigan’s unemployment insurance system, analyzes the current system’s guidelines, and notes various ways to modernize.” Revised July 2009 read more>>
Labor Day Report: Economic Challenges Underscore Needs of Low-Income Workers This report describes the state of working Michigan in 2008. It has been produced with the support of the Economic Policy Institute, and unless otherwise noted, the data has been supplied as part of their State of Working America project. — Sept 2008 (Revised Oct 2008) read more>> — Press Release>>
2007 Labor Day Report: Many Workers Lag Behind in New Economy This paper describes the state of working Michigan in 2007. It discusses wages, employment, worker characteristics, and the need for skill-building. It concludes with a summary of the positive steps Michigan has recently taken to help low-wage workers, and makes recommendations on what the state can do further to help such workers attain economic self-sufficiency. — Sept 2007 read more>>
