March 28, 2024
Between 2022 and 2023, Michigan’s annual average labor force participation rate grew from 60.4 percent to 61.9 percent. This rise of 1.5 percentage points was the largest of any other state in 2023. This caused Michigan’s labor force participation rate to ascend from the 37th highest in 2022 to the 34th highest in 2023. This climb may seem small, however, the labor force participation rates for the top 20 states were only 64.0 percent and above in 2023.
Michigan’s 2023 labor force participation rate of 61.9 percent was its highest since 2019 when the rate was also 61.9. The state’s labor force participation rate peaked in 2000 at 68.6 percent and bottomed out in 2021 at 59.4 percent. The U.S. labor force participation rate in 2023 was just 0.4 percentage points higher than Michigan at 62.3 percent. The state’s labor force participation rate has been below the national rate since 2002.
|
State |
2022 Labor Force Participation Rate |
2023 Labor Force Participation Rate |
Net Change |
Net Change Rank |
| Michigan | 60.4 | 61.9 | 1.5 | 1 |
| Virginia | 65.0 | 66.4 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Nevada | 61.6 | 62.7 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 61.8 | 62.9 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Vermont | 63.6 | 64.7 | 1.1 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 64.0 | 64.9 | 0.9 | 6 |
| New York | 60.2 | 61.1 | 0.9 | 7 |
| New Mexico | 56.5 | 57.3 | 0.8 | 8 |
| Missouri | 62.4 | 63.1 | 0.7 | 9 |
| Utah | 68.8 | 69.5 | 0.7 | 9 |
Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Michigan Center for Data and Analytics
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