Report shows Shiawassee unemployment rate down

The Michigan League for Human Services has issued a report (pdf) that shows some good news for Shiawassee. The unemployment rate for the county is down from 15.1% in 2010 Q4 to 11.9% in 2011 Q1. That’s an improvement of 3.2%. The number of unemployed persons in the county decreased by 24.3%. These numbers put us ahead of many other counties in Michigan:

All counties saw a decrease in their unemployment rate between the fourth quarter of 2009 and that of 2010. Although the statewide decrease was less than 1 point, there was a decrease of at least 2 points in 53 counties and two counties had a decrease of more than 4 points. Although there was a decrease in total jobs during that period, manufacturing jobs increased by nearly 10,000 jobs

Although our job numbers are looking better, our public assistance cases have increased. 1.9% of our families are receiving public assistance. The number of families receiving cash assistance increased by 23.9%, making us one of the top 10 counties in Michigan in terms of an increase. The number of families recieving food assistance increased by 18.9%.

Click here to download the report