Temporary end-of-semester layoffs in the education sector helped push the Ann Arbor area’s unemployment rate up from 4.3 to 5.1 percent according to a report from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and the Budget.
Ann Arbor's unemployment rate (blue columns) continued to decline in 2012 and is at its lowest since 2007.
From Michigan DTMB report
Annual employment numbers attempt to give a smoother picture of local area employment by accounting for seasonal variation.
In December, Ann Arbor saw a decrease of 400 in the labor force, a measure of the number of people either employed or looking for a job. The current force of 183,300 is 2,100 larger than it was in December 2011.
The area lost 2,500 non-farm jobs in December, with the majority of those losses coming in the government and professional services sectors. The report, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, said the government job losses were larger than typically seen in December but were balanced out by larger-than-average gains in November.
Washtenaw County continued to boast the lowest unemployment rate in the state. The next closest county was Clinton at 5.9 percent. Baraga County in the upper peninsula has the state’s highest unemployment rate at 18.3 percent.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Reach out to Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2