Washtenaw County's unemployment rate rose slightly in May
Washtenaw County’s unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent in May, up from 5 percent in April, according to statistics released this week by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.
The reason: Seasonal job seekers entered the labor force and government education jobs fell.
The data, which is not seasonally adjusted, shows that the Ann Arbor area’s labor force increased by .3 percent as job seekers entered the market.
At the same time, Washtenaw County lost 3,100 jobs in May in the government sector, due largely to seasonal cuts.
Some industries that added jobs in May: leisure and hospitality added 700; retail trade jobs expanded by 400, pushing trade; transportation and utilities added 700; construction grew by 300.
Annually, Washtenaw County’s jobless rates have declined each consecutive year since 2009. The 5.5 percent unemployment rate in May also is down .6 percent from May 2011.
Washtenaw's unemployment rate in May was the lowest among Michigan's 83 counties. The next lowest was Clinton County at 5.8 percent. Oakland County's rate was 8.6 percent and Wayne County's was 11 percent.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
clownfish
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 1:11 p.m.
I was expecting to see posts regaling us with this as proof that liberalism as practiced around A2 is a complete failure! Turns out "Washtenaw's unemployment rate in May was the lowest among Michigan's 83 counties. " hmm...
lindseyquiroz
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 5:04 a.m.
The cost of higher education is ridiculous, my son wanted to go to college but we could not afford so we choose the High Speed Universities for his education while working now he working for fortune 500
Goober
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:31 p.m.
Can we blame Bush? Seems to be the trend, these days.
bobslowson
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 4:23 p.m.
Nope...I'm blaming Snyder...after all, he ran his whole campaign on how those trickle down economics and breaks for his business buddies would translate into sooooooooo many jobs we would need to import people from other states just to fill them all!
clownfish
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 1:18 p.m.
I, like GWB, blame Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Oh, and FDR.
Floyd
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:24 p.m.
You're right, Leaguebus - there is class warfare going on here... and the Ricks and Willards are winning, unfortunately.
leaguebus
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 8:57 p.m.
The Rickster is all about jobs, but his policies have raised the unemployment rate in this county and statewide. Must be he wants to keep unemployment rates high so the savior of the auto industry, Willard Romney, will beat Obama in November. Then another round of tax cuts drops us into a double dip recession and the middle class takes another couple steps down the income ladder, companies make more profit by getting more out of their existing workers, pay their Executives more money, which increases wealth at the top and the 1% builds a bigger vacation hose in the Hamptons, and so on. Life is good for the Willard's and Ricks of this country.
snapshot
Sun, Jun 24, 2012 : 3:58 a.m.
Dude, give the myth a rest and do a little research istead of regurgitate misinformation.
Tom Todd
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 12:30 p.m.
The Truth hurts.