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The Upper Peninsula’s unemployment rate bumped upward in November.
Figures released yesterday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget show the number of U.P. residents with jobs shrank by 1,900. That’s 1.5 percent of the peninsula’s current workforce.
That pushed the unemployment rate to 4.9 percent. That’s six-tenths of a point higher than October, and seven-tenths of a point higher than November of last year. Those figures are not adjusted to factor in typical seasonal employment fluctuations.
Michigan’s statewide unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in November – a half-point better than last year.
Locally, Houghton County’s unemployment rate stands at 4 percent. Keweenaw County is at 6 percent, Baraga County at 6.6 percent, and Ontonagon County at 6.9 percent.
Statewide, Livingston County has the lowest rate, at 2.1 per cent. Mackinac County, which is typically greatly affected by the loss of summer tourism jobs, ranks highest at 10.7 percent.
