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Michigan unemployment rate unchanged during January

April 02, 2026

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged between December and January at 5.0 percent, according to data released today by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget. Employment decreased by 10,000 over the month, while the number of unemployed people increased by 3,000, resulting in a workforce decline of 7,000 in January.    

“Michigan's unemployment rate remained at 5.0 percent in January as the state's labor force fell below five million workers,” said Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for Michigan’s Center for Data and Analytics. “Payroll jobs were relatively flat both over the month and over the year.”

The national unemployment rate declined by one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.3 percent. Michigan’s January jobless rate was 0.7 percentage points above the U.S. rate. The national unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points over the year, while the statewide rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points since January 2025.

 

Detailed data will be available for viewing and download with the MCDA Data Search tool by noon.

Media Contact:

Laura Wotruba

WotrubaL@michigan.gov

517-282-9753

Michigan and U.S. Unemployment Rate

Seasonally Adjusted

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Data for October 2025 were not collected due to the federal government shutdown.

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

 

Labor force trends and highlights

  • Michigan’s 11-month average unemployment rate for 2025 was 5.2 percent1.
  • Michigan’s total number of unemployed advanced by 1.2 percent over the month, while the national unemployment total receded by 1.8 percent.  
  • Michigan’s total workforce fell by 1.6 percent over the year, while the national labor force edged down by 0.1 percent since January 2025.
  • The statewide labor force participation rate decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 60.6 percent. Michigan’s employment-population ratio also fell by one-tenth of a percentage point during January to 57.6 percent. 

 

Michigan Labor Force Estimates

Seasonally Adjusted

Labor Market Indicators January 2026 December 2025 January 2025 Over-the-month Change Over-the-year Change
Civilian Labor Force 4,993,000 5,000,000 5,074,000 -7,000 (-0.1%) -81,000 (-1.6%)
Employed 4,741,000 4,751,000 4,804,000 -10,000 (-0.2%) -63,000 (-1.3%)
Unemployed 252,000 249,000 270,000 3,000 (1.2%) -18,000 (-6.7%)
Unemployment Rate 5.0% 5.0% 5.3% 0.0 -0.3

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

Detroit metro area unemployment rate stable in January

The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area’s (MSA) seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent during January. Employment advanced by 4,000 over the month, and total unemployment rose by 2,000. The Detroit metro area labor force increased by 5,000 in January.

Over the year, the Detroit metro area jobless rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points.  The region’s labor force receded by 10,000 since January 2025.

 

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MSA Labor Force Estimates

Seasonally Adjusted

Labor Market Indicators January 2026 December 2025 January 2025 Over-the-month Change Over-the-year Change
Civilian Labor Force 2,169,000 2,164,000 2,179,000 5,000 (0.2%) -10,000 (-0.5%)
Employed 2,062,000 2,058,000 2,066,000 4,000 (0.2%) -4,000 (-0.2%)
Unemployed 107,000 105,000 113,000 2,000 (1.9%) -6,000 (-5.3%)
Unemployment Rate 4.9% 4.9% 5.2% 0.0 -0.3

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

Michigan payroll employment essentially unchanged in January

According to the monthly survey of employers, Michigan seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs were nearly unchanged over the month, inching up by 1,000 during January. Minor employment gains were seen across multiple industries.

Industry employment trends and highlights

  • The state’s government sector demonstrated the largest over-the-month employment increase in January (+2,000).
  • Employment within private education and health services rose for the third consecutive month, with jobs increasing by 4,000 by since October 2025.
  • Job losses were seen in manufacturing (-3,000) and trade, transportation, and utilities (-1,000).
  • Over the year, statewide payroll employment edged up by 2,000.
  • Industries with the largest over-the-year payroll gains included private education and health services (+10,000) and government (+9,000).

Michigan Industry Job Change

Seasonally Adjusted

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Source: Current Employment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Michigan Over-the-Month Change in Payroll Jobs

Seasonally Adjusted (Data in Thousands) 

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Source: Current Employment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

1*Due to the lapse in federal appropriations, October 2025 data collection did not occur for the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the primary inputs to LAUS estimation. These 11-month averages will not be strictly comparable to annual averages for prior years.

 

Note on data revisions

The data in this release reflects recently revised historical estimates. All states in the nation participate in this revision process facilitated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seasonally adjusted and unadjusted monthly labor force estimates from 2021–2025 for Michigan and the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MSA were revised.

In addition, all unadjusted payroll job data was revised for 2024 and 2025. Seasonally adjusted payroll job data was revised back to 2021 for all industries. For certain industries with larger historical revisions, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted payroll job data was revised for multiple years, some back to 1990. For newly revised data, go to www.milmi.org/datasearch.

Previously published data for these years should be discarded and replaced with these new series.

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