Jobs picture in Michigan gets bleaker

[papau]

http://www.detnews.com/2004/business/0408/19/a01-247429.htm

Jobs picture in Michigan gets bleaker

Unemployment rate rises to 6.8 percent in July; state loses 16,000 factory jobs

By Karen Dybis, and Charlie Cain / The Detroit News

More Michigan workers joined the unemployment rolls in July as the state continued to lose an alarming number of high-paying factory jobs, dampening hopes for an economic rally in the second half of the year.

The state lost 25,000 jobs for the month, mostly due to larger-than-expected seasonal job cuts by automakers, a state report said Wednesday. Nearly two-thirds of the job losses — 16,000 — came from the manufacturing sector as Detroit’s Big Three extended some summer factory shutdowns due to a glut of unsold vehicles on dealer lots. The losses left Michigan with 686,000 manufacturing jobs, down from more 900,000 five years ago.

The weak job activity pushed the state’s unemployment rate to 6.8 percent, up from 6.5 percent in June and well above the national rate of 5.5 percent, according to the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth.

“Michigan’s still stuck with sluggish job growth,” said Patrick Anderson, principal of consulting firm Anderson Economic Group in Lansing. “Cautious employers are just not hiring.” <snip>

But the loss of manufacturing jobs remains a critical problem in Michigan. The manufacturing industry has lost 34,000 jobs from July 2003 to July 2004, a decline of 4.7 percent, the state reported. Government jobs have declined by 15,000 or 2.2 percent. <snip>


http://www.freep.com/money/business/jobs19e_20040819.htm

Factory jobs hit a new low in state

August 19, 2004 BY JOHN GALLAGHER FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The Michigan economy stumbled in July, losing another 7,000 jobs, pushing one of the nation's worst unemployment rates even higher, and ensuring that workplace worries will be a major issue in this fall's presidential election.


The state's factories again bore the brunt of the cutbacks, eliminating 16,000 more positions and reducing the number of manufacturing jobs below 700,000 for the first time since Michigan began keeping records.


July was a disappointing month across much of the nation. After adding nearly 600,000 jobs in April and May, hiring fell off dramatically with only 78,000 new jobs created in June and 32,000 in July -- far short of the half-million economists had expected.


Although that was at least enough to push the national unemployment rate down one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.5 percent in July, that wasn't the case in Michigan.<snip>

[4morewars]

1. We're turning the corner !

president stupid said so.

[Bozita]

2. Both articles are headlines, front page, above the fold

IMHO, Michigan is NOT a swing state.

[asjr]

3. Say hello to another Great Depression.

I feel it in my old bones.