And by that, we mean jobless rates. Employment data for September 2019 is out and the regional jobless rate fell more than half a percentage point compared to August. Low unemployment (3.3%) in the Kalamazoo-Portage MSA continues to be the catalyst driving down Southwest Michigan’s numbers.

Source: Michigan DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), September 2019. Notes: All estimates are preliminary. Data is not seasonally adjusted.