Michigan Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Remain Flat in October

Michigan’s Change in Payroll Employment Fairs Slightly Better Than the Nation

Seasonally adjusted payroll employment in the state decreased by 700, to a total of 4,493,500, remaining relatively unchanged over the month. Jobs have now declined in four of the past five months. Statewide employment was 53,400, or 1.2 percent, above its October 2023 level, although much of this gain over the year gain was due to an auto strike that occurred in October of 2023.

Michigan payroll jobs saw little change in October.

Monthly Job Change (Data In Thousands)

Source: Current Employment Statistics, Michigan Center for Data and Analytics

Nationally, seasonally adjusted payroll jobs rose by 12,000, or 0.0 percent, over the month, matching the statewide rate of change for Michigan. The monthly change experienced by many states and the broader nation can be characterized as generally flat, with most states reporting a monthly change in payroll jobs smaller than 0.1 percent. This resulted in a modest 1.4 percent over the year growth rate for the nation.

Half of Michigan Industry Sectors Added to Their Payroll Jobs in October, Resulting in Nearly Offsetting Gains and Losses

The Michigan industries with the largest numeric job gains over the month were Private education and health services (+3,100), Other services (+1,200), and Government (+1,000). Job gains within these sectors in Michigan were offset by job losses in the Leisure and hospitality (-4,900) and Professional and business services (-2,400) sectors.

Private education and health services experienced the largest job increases in October.

October Industry Job Change (Seasonally Adjusted)

Source: Current Employment Statistics, Michigan Center for Data and Analytics 

Michigan’s industry sectors added 53,400 jobs over the year, however, some of this gain was caused by UAW strikes that temporarily decreased employment in October 2023. There were several large over-the-year employment gains in sectors typically unrelated to manufacturing, such as Government (+19,100), Construction (+14,600), and Private education and health services (+10,800). In terms of percent change, five of Michigan’s sectors recorded a percent change greater than the statewide average of 1.2 percent. At the national level, Private education and health services (+3.8 percent), Construction (+2.8 percent), and Government (+2.1 percent) were the three sectors that outpaced the rate of job growth for all industries (+1.4 percent) over the year.

Non-seasonally Adjusted Payroll Employment Increased or Was Unchanged in All but Three Michigan Areas in October

The Lansing MSA added 4,800 jobs (+2.0 percent) in October, accounting for a majority of the non-seasonally adjusted employment added in Michigan during the month. Ann Arbor added 2,700 jobs (+1.2 percent), the second largest of the 14 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in Michigan. The Government sector was the leading contributor to job growth in these areas, adding 4,200 jobs to Lansing and 2,600 to Ann Arbor over the month. The only areas to see a jobs decline were Jackson (-0.5 percent), Muskegon (-0.3 percent), and Saginaw (-0.2 percent).

The Lansing area was the largest contributor to Michigan’s non-seasonally adjusted payroll job growth in October.

Metro Area Over the Month Payroll Jobs Change, October 2024 (Data In Thousands)

Source: Current Employment Statistics, Michigan Center for Data and Analytics

For more information on Michigan's statewide and regional labor markets, read the full press releases from the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics. Download custom employment and unemployment data with the MCDA Data Search tool.