By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-940429.mp3
LANSING, MI –
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Michigan has gone 11 months without an increase in its unemployment rate. As we hear from Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta, the November jobless rate fell slightly to 12.4%.
AUDIO:
The November jobless rate is 2.4 percentage points lower than it was a year ago.
The state Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth says the last increase in Michigan's jobless rate was in December of 2009.
There was a very slight uptick in jobs this past November, mostly due to hiring at restaurants and other hospitality businesses. But most of the drop in the jobless number was because 19,000 unemployed people stopped looking for work. They are no longer counted as part of the state's jobless rate.
When people who stopped looking are counted, along with part-timers who would like to work full-time, Michigan's rate of unemployment and under-employment is 21.2%.
reWorking Michigan
For more on job creation and workforce evolution in Michigan, visit WKAR.org/reworkingmichigan