By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-994417.mp3
LANSING, MI –
A report just released by the University of Michigan says the state's economy will likely add jobs over the next two years - but slowly. As Michigan Public Radio's Laura Weber reports, Governor Rick Snyder says he hopes to accelerate job growth by making Michigan a North American trade hub.
The U-of-M report says unemployment in Michigan is expected to remain above 10 percent for the next two years.
Governor Snyder says he's working to attract more businesses to the state to help lower the unemployment rate. He says he's trying to make Michigan central to a trade zone that connects the Mid-west to much of Canada. Snyder says it's a mistake to consider the region a "fly-over" zone.
"The coasts have nothing on us," he says. "We have a third of the North American economy right here. And we're dead-center in the middle when you draw the circle that way."
Snyder also says he is still working on a deal to build a publically owned second bridge between Detroit and Canada. Snyder says focusing on a trade relationship with Canada would help boost the state's economy and help create jobs.