not a bad idea, i could do that.
Posted on 04/24/2009 10:42:23 AM PDT by mombyprofession
Ionia County's unemployment rate for March skyrocketed to its highest level since modern statistics began in 1990.
Figures released Thursday by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) show the county's jobless rate hit 14.4 percent, which is the highest since the state and federal governments began using their current survey method in 1990 and nearly double the March 2008 rate of 7.6 percent.
Ionia County registered an unemployment rate of 18.6 percent in March 1985 but that figure cannot be compared equally to current statistics since it calculated with an outdated formula, according to Tom Krolik, an economist with the U.S. Department of Labor's Local Area Unemployment Statistics Office in Washington, D.C.
Montcalm County's unemployment rate was worse at 16.9 percent, which is the highest since reaching 18.6 percent in March 1990 and 5.6 percent over the March 2008 rate of 11.3 percent.
DELEG Regional Analyst Jason Palmer in Grand Rapids said the higher rates appear to have been caused by a small increase of people seeking jobs and an increase in the number of people that are unemployed.
Palmer said more people typically enter the labor force in May and June when schools let out. If economic conditions stay the same, he expects that will drive up the unemployment rate even higher then.
"More people in the workforce looking for the same number of jobs will only drive the rate up," Palmer said. "Since the rate is based on a ratio of the number of people in the workforce vs. the number of people unemployed, that's what happens."
Rick Waclawek, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategic Initiatives, said the state's unemployment picture generally improves in the spring when employers begin hiring seasonal workers.
"However this March, these gains were essentially absent," he said.
Michigan continues to lead the United States with a statewide unemployment average of 13.4 percent. Unemployment rates increased in all of the state's 83 counties from February to March.
More layoffs in the manufacturing and professional business services industries contributed to the higher unemployment. Palmer said these job losses reflected layoffs at various manufacturing facilities and job cuts among area staffing firms.
Worker recalls in private education, health services and government helped offset the manufacturing and business services layoffs.
For the long term, Palmer pointed out employment forecasts through 2016 show steady growth in several occupational sectors. He said the national unemployment rate is a better gauge of where the state's jobless rates will head, however.
"The national rate has been going up and Michigan is in step with that," Palmer said. "When the U.S. economy starts to recover that is when we need keep track of our economy and look for some growth."
Good. I hope they are all former UAW folks.
>>Good. I hope they are all former UAW folks.<<
They aren’t.
And those of us who want to get out of here who are not UAW are looking to abandon our homes just to get out.
It’s bleak up here.
I don’t think it is as bad as the early 80’s but it’s bad here. Grandholm’s utopia and 0 is trying his best to copy. GM shuts for the summer it will be Kattie bar the door.
Feel bad for us, we did this to ourselves and will keep on doing it. No thanks.
Sad. This is all UAW, Granholm and liberalism. They bled the car companies to death. They killed the golden goose.
The Western part of MI should secede. Grand Rapids is a nice place.
Liberal leadership...welcome to our world USA. This is what's in store for you.
Hey_ Simply raise taxes and spend more. That’s the answer. /s
Only if you handle a town full of dutchmen and no place to dance.
Welcome to the Obama economy.
Pretty soon, the only people working in MI will be hunting guides.
Man, that sounds like a good thing, too.
LOL! Actually I prefer Dutch women. ;-)
The Golf Channel runs ads to come to MI to play golf. My guess is no one has a job now so they can play lots of golf.
Beautiful courses but they will not get my money as long as Granholm turns the place into a mix of Zimbabwe and Eastern Germany.
Hail! to the Taxers valiant
Hail! to the Union heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The tax and spenders best!
Hail! to the Democrats valiant
Hail! to the Comunist heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
The cesspool of the world!
MAKE HERE + MAKE NOW = RECOVERY
It sounds dreadful.
CONGRATULATIONS Governor Granholm! The work your doing in Michigan is amazing. The momentum you have going in Michigan is breathtaking. Would the last productive person in Michigan please turn off the lights.
I’m just putting trust in Our Lord.
He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the Lilies of the Field.
We’ll be okay.
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