by Bruce Walker
As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allows more sectors of the economy to open, Michigan unemployment claims dropped to 956,418 in the week ending May 30, compared to 985,294 claims the prior week ending May 23.
Those numbers are the lowest unemployment figures in Michigan since the beginning of measures to contain the coronavirus were initiated in late March.
However, Michigan’s unemployment rates are still the ninth highest in a nation with more than 42 million unemployed workers.
All told, 41,035 new unemployment claims were filed in the state last week, a drop of 23,539 claims from the 64,574 claims initiated the prior week, according to numbers released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. DOL numbers indicated a 36 percent drop in initial Michigan unemployment claims from the prior week.
The DOL reported 1.9 million new unemployment claims across the nation last week. Although high, the number also reflects a gradual decline of new claims over the past nine weeks.
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Bruce Walker is a regional editor at The Center Square. He previously worked as editor at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s MichiganScience magazine and The Heartland Institute’s InfoTech & Telecom News.
