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Employment levels fell in the Upper Peninsula in December.
The number of U.P. residents on the job dropped from 125,600 in November to 124,000 last month. The December employment figure was 1,200 higher than in December of 2021.
The figures come from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
The decline boosted the U.P.’s unemployment rate to 5.9 percent – a full percentage point higher than in November. That figure is not adjusted to factor in typical seasonal employment fluctuations.
The statewide unadjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent.
Menominee County had the lowest unemployment rate in the Upper Peninsula in November, at 4.4 percent. Houghton County was just behind, at 4.5 percent. The rate was 7.6 percent for Keweenaw County, 7.7 percent for Ontonagon County, and 7.8 percent for Baraga County. Livingston County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.4 percent. Mackinac County, which is heavily dependent on summer tourism jobs, had the highest rate at 15.9 percent.
