Unemployment in Michigan Continuing a Downward Trend

It's not a whole lot, but state officials say the drop in Michigan's unemployment rate last month is a sign that the state continues to head in the right direction.

Mlive.com is quoting statistics from the Department of Technology, Management and Budget that say the rate now stands at 7.7%.  That is down one-tenth of a percent from the previous month and a full percentage point from the same time last year.

The report indicates that the number of those collecting benefits dropped by 4,000 while the state added more than 26,000 during the period.

Michigan officials, though, admit the rate of recovery is slim but say it is moving in the right direction.  "Michigan labor market conditions displayed modest improvement in February," Jason Palmer, Director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, said in a written statement.

The overall state numbers went down a bit helped in large part with a  rebound in the manufacturing industry.

While Michigan's jobless rates for the beginning of the year were the lowest since May 2008, the state is still among the top in the country in unemployment rates.

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