LANSING – Michigan’s unemployment rate and overall economy have improved, but the state’s labor participation percentage is the lowest among the Great Lake states and the 40th lowest in the United States.
The figures come from the July report on key labor market and economic metrics published by the Department of Treasury.
The report shows that the labor participation rate has improved in Michigan, but still remains far below its peak level in 2000 and lags the labor participation rate for the entire U.S.
In June, the state had a labor participation rate of 60.4 percent.
The national average labor participation rate was 63.5 percent.
The July average for the state put its rank nationally at 40th, but that was a substantial improvement over its average ranking in 2012, where it stood 44th in the nation.
The labor participation rate is the rate of those people between the age of 16 and 64 who are either working or looking for work. It does not include individuals in school, persons such as homemakers or those who have retired from working at an age younger than 64.
The participation rate can be affected by a number of social factors; for example, as more women entered the work force, the labor participation rate increased. Overall, both the state and national rate declined after 2000 because of several recessions.
The rate also does not include those persons who are no longer looking for work. Many economists consider studying both the labor participation rate and the state’s unemployment rate as important in determining the overall strength of a state’s employment status.
In June, Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 8.7 percent.
The labor participation rate averaged 59.8 percent in 2012, a 22-year low for the state. Through most of 2013 it stood under 60 percent, just cracking that level in May.
The highest labor rate participation the state has had in the last several decades was at 68.4 percent in 2000. That year, the state stood 22nd in the nation in terms of its labor participation rate.
Among the states, Nebraska has the highest labor participation rate at 72.9 percent, while West Virginia has the lowest at 53.7 percent.
Among the Great Lakes states, Minnesota has the highest labor participation rate at 70.8 percent. Minnesota also has the lowest unemployment rate among the states.
Following Minnesota, Wisconsin has the highest rate at 68.2 percent, then Illinois at 65.5 percent (though Illinois has the highest unemployment rate of the Great Lakes states), then New York at 64.7 percent, Pennsylvania at 64 percent, Ohio at 63.6 percent and Indiana at 62.4 percent.
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