Overall unemployment rate moved down to 4.8% with the biggest shift in Government, which lost 500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in June 2021.
Total employment in the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI market declined by 179 jobs in April and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 60 bps to 4.8%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 43 bps over the same time to 5.7%.
- Kalamazoo-Portage, MI unemployment rate is 95 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 1,290 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) declined in April versus prior month by -4.9% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -0.1%. Key sectors include:
- Transportation & Utilities: 25,400; -300
- Education & Healthcare: 24,700; no change
- Manufacturing: 21,600; -100
- Government: 19,000; -500
- Business Services: 16,000; +400
- Restaurants & Hotels: 12,400; +200
- Financial Services: 7,800; +100
- Construction, Mining: 6,500; +100
- Other Jobs: 4,600; no change
- IT & Development: 800; no change
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through April 2021 (Data published June 2021 and reports created on June 2, 2021). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.