LANSING – For the fourth consecutive month, Michigan’s unemployment rate rose, and in August hit 9.4 percent, figures released Wednesday by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed.

The August seasonally adjusted rate matched the December 2011 rate, and since hitting a low of 8.3 percent has grown back by 1.1 percentage points.

Sen. Bert Johnson (D-Detroit) said the figures showed that Governor Rick Snyder and the majority Republicans had failed to recognize what the state cares about most, especially after what he said was President Barack Obama helping the state by saving the auto industry.

“It is shocking that Republicans have missed so many opportunities to focus on what Michiganders really care about: job creation,” Johnson said.

But Lt. Governor Brian Calley said in a blog post that when he thought about the state’s future, he saw “pure potential.” The blog post said that since his taking office, the state’s jobless rate had fallen from 10.9 percent to 9.4 percent, but it did not refer to the recent monthly increases.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign sought to pivot the numbers against President Barack Obama.

“Today, the Obama economy dealt more bad news to Michigan’s unemployed – jobs are getting harder to find,” spokesperson Sean Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “9.4 percent unemployment is flat-out unacceptable. President Obama has failed to create an environment that inspires confidence for Michigan’s small businesses to create jobs in our communities.”

The figures showed that Michigan’s labor force fell by 3,000 workers to 4.658 million in August, and the number of people working fell by 18,000 to 4.221 million. The number of unemployed persons increased by 16,000 to 437,000.

However, there were still 54,000 more people working in the state in August than in August 2011, when the unemployment rate stood at 10.4 percent, the figures showed.

In the Detroit-Warren-Livonia market, the state’s largest, the unemployment rate rose to 10.7 percent from 10.2 percent in July. In August 2011, it stood at 11.7 percent.

The state was affected by a drop of 8,000 manufacturing jobs. In part, those matched seasonal patterns with automotive model shifts. There were also drops in the areas of trade, transportation and utility jobs, education and health services jobs, leisure and hospitality jobs and other services.

However, there were gains in professional services and government and a small increase in construction jobs.

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