Michigan Overview

As the home of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, Michigan and much of the Michigan job market are tied to the success of the automobile industry. The recession hit the state and auto manufacturers hard. What’s more, over the past decade, nearly 20 percent of the state’s job base disappeared, much of it to other regions of the US. But the revival of the auto industry and services sector has put the Great Lake State’s economy on the mend -- good news for the state’s 4.6 million workers.

Michigan Job Opportunities

Besides its skilled manufacturing workforce, Michigan offers a low tax structure and leading research universities, including the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

With the Big Three automotive manufacturers dominating Michigan jobs, the trade, transportation and utilities sector leads employment in Michigan, followed by education/health services and government. Two other critical hiring sectors -- professional/business services and manufacturing -- have recently been the two fastest-growing. Government and leisure and hospitality employment has continued to decline.

Michigan Employment Trends

After years of decline, Michigan employment conditions are trending positive. After being in double-digit territory for nearly three years, the state’s unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in June 2012. Similarly, after declining since early 2002, the number of payroll workers has been increasing since mid-2010. Finally, online opportunities have been expanding at a double-digit pace for more than a year.

Moody’s Analytics expects jobs in Michigan to increase 1.4 percent between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, slightly higher than the 1.3 percent growth expected in the supply of US jobs over that time.