(The Center Square) – Michigan’s unemployment rate decreased slightly to 5.1% in September, though still coming in the fifth highest nationally.
Released this week, these numbers are the first look at unemployment numbers in Michigan since the federal government shutdown delayed the regular monthly reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The shutdown lasted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12 and, while the government is retroactively releasing the September unemployment numbers, it will be skipping the October report. The November unemployment report is expected in January.
September’s numbers were a slight improvement for Michigan, which has consistently reported some of the highest unemployment rates nationally this year.
California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Oregon are the only states with higher unemployment rates than Michigan.
In September, the national unemployment rate was 4.4%, which was a 0.1% increase from the previous month. While Michigan’s rate has been trending down since its June high of 5.4%, the national unemployment rate has been slowly trending upwards.
As of September of last year, the total number of unemployed Michiganders was 257,519. That number is now 258,830.
“Michigan’s labor market showed declining trends for both the labor force and state unemployment rate throughout the third quarter. Both metrics have fallen from recent peaks earlier in the year.” said Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for Michigan’s Center for Data and Analytics.
The center also released a report on Michigan’s regional employment situation.
It found that employment in Michigan decreased for the seventh consecutive month in September, with the number of employed declining by 28,000, or 0.6%, since February 2025. That comes while the labor force is actually increasing nationally.
Currently, 61.3% of Michigan’s population is participating in the labor force statewide, compared to 62.4% nationally.
The construction sector saw the largest increase in September, while both private education and health services saw the biggest declines. Despite those declines, both of those sectors has seen the biggest increases throughout the year.
Opinions have been divided on what is causing Michigan’s high unemployment compared to other states, with Democrats pointing to issues like tariffs, while Republicans lay the blame on economic policies pushed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
