West Michigan employment growth outperformed the rest of Michigan during March while its jobless numbers remained steady, according to the latest statistics from the state’s Bureau of Technology, Management and Budget.
Employment in the four-county Grand Rapids-Wyoming region grew by 3.8 percent, from 509,400 in March, 2014 to 528,700 this past March. Seasonal gains were reported in education and health services; leisure and hospitality and mining, logging and construction.
Muskegon County’s employment grew by 3.0 percent, from 70,000 jobs to 72,100 jobs. Seasonal growth was reported in the trade, transportation and utilities and in mining, logging and constructions.
Statewide, employment was up 1.7 percent over the past year while the unemployment rate fell by 2.8 percentage points, from 8.5 percent in March 2014 to 5.7 percent this past March.
“Michigan’s regional labor markets remained relatively stable in March, with very little movement in area jobless rates,” said Jason Palmer, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategic Initiatives.
“However, over the past year there has been clear and ongoing labor market improvement throughout the state’s local regions.”
The region’s jobless numbers were dramatically better than March 2014, according to the report released Thursday, April 23.
In Kent, Ottawa, Barry and Montcalm counties, the jobless rate stood at 3.9 percent, 2 percentage points better than the 5.9 percent reported one year earlier. In Muskegon County, the March jobless rate improved by 2.8 percentage points, from 8.7 percent in 2014 to 5.9 percent this year.
Source: Mlive.com