MI Unemployment Up In December

Michigan officials say that seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates have increased in all 17 major state labor markets. The December figures were released Thursday. Rates rose everywhere, with the Upper Peninsula and the northeastern and northwestern Lower Peninsulas showing the highest percentage jumps from November to December. Statewide, the unadjusted jobless rate was 9 percent, up from 8.4 percent in November. The seasonally adjusted rate has been falling for months. Rates ranged from a low of 5.5 percent in the Ann Arbor region to a high of 12.6 percent in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. The Detroit region's unemployment rate for December was 9.7 percent, up from 9.5 percent in November. County unemployment rates ranged from a low of 5.5 percent in Washtenaw to a high of 18.3 percent in Mackinac. The unemployment rate for the Niles-Benton Harbor region was 9.2 percent in December, compared with 8.2 percent the month before.