Overall unemployment rate moved down to 4.5% with the biggest shift in Government, which lost 1,800 roles, based on the most recently available information published in August 2022.
Total employment in the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI market declined by 648 jobs in July and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 10 bps to 4.5%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 5 bps over the same time to 3.8%.
- Kalamazoo-Portage, MI unemployment rate is 72 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 160 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in July versus prior month by 12.8% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.9%. Key sectors include:
- Transportation & Utilities: 26,000; -300
- Education & Healthcare: 25,000; -100
- Manufacturing: 24,000; +100
- Business Services: 17,300; -1,000
- Government: 16,200; -1,800
- Restaurants & Hotels: 15,300; +200
- Financial Services: 7,600; no change
- Construction, Mining: 7,300; +100
- Other Jobs: 5,400; no change
- IT & Development: 800; no change
Employment Change by Key Sector
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through July 2022 (Data published August 2022 and reports created on September 2, 2022). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.