Michigan’s jobless rate has edged upward to four-point-six percent. The uptick was caused by a surge in the number of people looking for work.
This is the first jump in the jobless rate in months. Hiring was up last month by 11 thousand people. But 14 thousand people were counted as unemployed as more jobseekers joined the workforce.
Ari Adler is the governor’s spokesman. He says the growing number of people competing for jobs is good news. “Because it shows that people have some confidence that if they get back into the workforce and start looking, they’re going to find gainful employment and start on a path for a career.”
Adler says the challenge is connecting those jobseekers to employers with more than 100 thousand available positions, and making sure they have the skills to succeed in those jobs.
I’m Rick Pluta in Lansing