Layoffs associated with the auto sector strike raised the roof on October unemployment levels in a few Southwest Michigan counties, with St. Joseph County hit the hardest. Despite this unexpected snowstorm (yes, remember that on Halloween?), the month recorded typical employment changes. Education returned to full staffing, while jobs in Leisure and Hospitality continued to decline. Manufacturing jobs continued to drive rates down overall as employment in this sector has improved considerably since the end of the 2009 recession in the regional metro areas of Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Berrien. In the race for the lowest rate, Kalamazoo (3.0%) and Berrien (3.1%) vied antler to antler, with Kalamazoo nosing out its neighbor to the west in this reindeer game.
More Labor Market News from the state of Michigan can be found here.
| 2019 | OCTOBER | SEPTEMBER | AUGUST | |||
| COUNTY | Labor Force | Employment | Unemployment | Jobless Rate | Jobless Rate | Jobless Rate |
| Berrien | 73,061 | 70,779 | 2,282 | 3.1% | 3.5% | 4.2% |
| Branch | 19,637 | 18,870 | 767 | 3.9% | 3.6% | 4.0% |
| Calhoun | 61,938 | 59,754 | 2,184 | 3.5% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Cass | 24,407 | 23,515 | 892 | 3.7% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Kalamazoo | 133,398 | 129,406 | 3,992 | 3.0% | 3.3% | 3.7% |
| St. Joseph | 27,569 | 26,279 | 1,290 | 4.7% | 3.7% | 4.5% |
| Van Buren | 35,557 | 34,351 | 1,206 | 3.4% | 3.8% | 4.5% |
| Southwest Michigan | 375,567 | 362,954 | 12,613 | 3.4% | 0.0% | 4.1% |
| AREAS | ||||||
| Michigan | 4,941,000 | 4,767,000 | 174,000 | 3.5% | 3.7% | 4.2% |
| USA | 164,576,000 | 159,067,000 | 5,510,000 | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.8% |
| Source: Michigan DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), October 2019. Notes: All estimates are preliminary. Data is not seasonally adjusted. | ||||||
