June 05, 2025
Michigan’s job openings rate increased in March according to the latest release of the state Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Both the hires rate and labor turnover rate increased as well. The separations rate, layoffs/discharges rate, and unemployed persons to job openings ratio all declined during this time, while the quits rate was unchanged.
There were approximately 15,000 more jobs available in March (225,000) than in February (210,000). As a result, the job openings rate, a measure of job openings as a percentage of employment, rose to 4.7 percent (+0.3 percentage points). This increase moved Michigan above the national openings rate (4.3 percent) and placed the state’s job openings rate at 14th highest among other states.
Source: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The unemployed persons to job openings ratio fell to 1.24. March was the 11th consecutive month in which Michigan’s ratio surpassed one, indicating that the number of individuals available to work exceeded job opportunities. Michigan remained above the national ratio of 0.98 and fell to the fifth highest among other states, a slight improvement from second highest in February.
The labor turnover rate, a combination of hires and separations, increased to 7.6 percent (+0.3 percentage points). As a result, Michigan recorded the 10th highest turnover rate among states and was well above the national turnover rate in March (6.6 percent). This increase was driven by the growth in the hires rate during this time.
The hires rate, a measure of hires as a percentage of employment, saw a notable increase in March, rising to 4.5 percent (+0.8 percentage points). This jump moved Michigan to the fifth highest hires rate among states and substantially above the national rate (3.4 percent). This was due to Michigan employers hiring roughly 40,000 more individuals in March (205,000) than in February (165,000).
Source: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Approximately 138,000 individuals were separated from their jobs in March, a decrease of roughly 25,000 from the month prior. As a result, the separations rate, a measure of separations as a percentage of employment, fell to 3.1 percent (-0.5 percentage points). Michigan recorded the eighth lowest rate among states and fell below the national rate (3.2 percent).
The primary driver in the decline in separations was a decline in layoffs/discharges, a measure of involuntary separations. There were roughly 36,000 layoffs/discharges in March, a decrease of 21,000 from the month prior. Subsequently, the layoffs/discharges rate fell to 0.8 percent (-0.5 percentage points). Conversely, quits, a measure of voluntary separations, fell to 95,000 (-2,000). Despite this decline, the quits rate, a measure of quits as a percentage of employment, remained at 2.1 percent for the second consecutive month.
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