LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, May 29, 2026) – Joblessness is down along the Lakeshore and across the state, but the outlook isn’t apparently too bright.
According to numbers released on Thursday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, the not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell in all 18 major labor market areas by a median level of half of a percentage point, and in 78 of the state’s 83 counties. Officials cite “prominent’ labor force reductions, as well as the number of payroll jobs rising, as reasons for this trend.
However, the number of established companies adding jobs “has not been such a good thing over the last couple of years or so,” according to Dr. Brian Long, director of supply management research with the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.
Locally, Ottawa County’s unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent in April, down four tenths of a percentage point from March, and six tenths from a year ago. Allegan County’s numbers were at 3.7 percent last month, 4.2 percent in March, and 4.7 percent a year ago.
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