GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — GRBJ—While the U.S. continues to add jobs, Michigan experienced one of the worst changes in unemployment in December.
WalletHub noted Michigan was No. 44 among states in change in unemployment during December, a month in which the U.S. added 233,000 jobs. That job number was lower than November as the U.S. faces increasing economic tailwinds.
The U.S. unemployment rate is 3.5%, down from the historic 14.7% in April 2020. Michigan’s unemployment sits at 4.3%.
The state government was relatively positive about Michigan, which saw employment drop by 1,000 in December with the unemployment level staying stable, according to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
“Michigan’s 2022 labor market continued to show improvement, with an annual jobless rate only 0.2 percentage points above the 2019 pre-pandemic annual rate,” Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, said in a release. “Annual payroll jobs also advanced notably over the year.”
Recession concerns threaten to increase the downward trend. This year, there could be a significant rise in unemployment if trends continue.
“The U.S. economy is expected to grow very little in 2023,” said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. “This would lead to a jump in unemployment as high as 4.6%, according to the Federal Reserve. Both of these things would be signs of the Fed continuing to try and get a handle on inflation. If this ‘worst-case scenario’ comes true, it could mean that millions of people who now have jobs could wind up unemployed.”
According to a Morning Consult/Axios Inequality Index monthly poll, a growing number of high-income workers are concerned about their jobs. More than 12% of workers making more than $100,000 fear losing their jobs.
That’s in stark contrast to a consistent drop in those making below $50,000.
The most high-anxiety fields? Tech and finance, while hospitality and retail industry workers are less worried.
Companies like Spotify, Alphabet, Microsoft, Salesforce and Amazon have made significant cuts to their workforce. It also goes further into the economy, with Goldman Sachs and Blackrock also making significant cuts.
Nearly 190 tech companies have laid off 57,000 workers since the beginning of the year, according to Layoffs.fyi, which is tracking the industry’s mass layoffs.
The layoffs, however, might not be long-term.
“The U.S. economy has been quite resilient compared to expectations,” John Van Reenen, Ronald Coase School professor at the London School of Economics, told Time. “The labor markets held up reasonably well, and inflation is coming down much faster in the U.S. than it is in Europe.”
This report first appeared in the Grand Rapids Business Journal.
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