LANSING, MI (WHTC) - The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget disclosed seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates for March yesterday. Officials say that joblessness declined in all of the state’s 17 major labor market regions, with total employment and labor force levels up in nearly every one of them. The Lakeshore’s improvement was modest, with Ottawa County unemployment down two tenths of a percentage point from February to March at six percent even, while Allegan County’s mark fell four tenths to 6.9 percent. Those levels are relatively flat as compared to a year ago, but both counties are in the top 10 in the state for the lowest jobless rates right now.
Governor Snyder hailed these figures as proof that “the comeback is happening,” but Comerica Bank officials said earlier this week that their Michigan Economic Activity Index fell in February for the fourth straight month, and that job growth in the state has stalled out since last August.