Ann Arbor region's unemployment rate ticks down to 10.3 percent

By Nathan Bomey Business news director

Posted on Thu, Aug 27, 2009 : 2:31 p.m.

The Ann Arbor region’s unemployment rate ticked downward to 10.3 percent in July, mirroring a brief respite in Michigan’s workforce contraction.

The area’s jobless rate dipped from 10.6 percent in June to 10.3 percent in July, according to statistics released this afternoon by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. Although the unemployment rate declined, Washtenaw County also lost 1,700 jobs in July.

Michigan’s unemployment rate briefly reversed its rapid rise, declining from 15.2 percent to 15.0 in July reports released last week.

Ann Arbor’s unemployment rate has spiked 45 percent since July 2008, when the rate stood at 7.1 percent.

The region’s typically steady employment base has not been able to escape the implosion of the domestic auto industry. But early indications suggest that the local manufacturing sector might have sustained its heaviest losses.

“Because local auto manufacturers and suppliers weathered so many reductions at the end of 2008 and during the first half of this year, model-changeover shutdowns generated far fewer layoffs in July 2009,” DELEG reported. “This was largely a statewide phenomenon as well.”

The U.S. unemployment rate in July was 9.4 percent, down from 9.5 in June.

Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at nathanbomey@annarbor.com, (734) 623-2587 or follow him on Twitter.