Unemployment Rates Rise for Young and Prime-Age Adults in Michigan

Reviewing labor market trends among different demographic populations can highlight disparities among these groups. Demographic data for all states are published as an annual average by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics once a year. This data comes from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is a different source than the standard monthly labor market information containing Michigan’s official unemployment rate, labor force, and payroll jobs. Comparisons should not be made with monthly data, as the demographic information presented here is a 12-month average for Michigan and the U.S.

For this analysis, Michigan’s workforce data from the Current Population Survey was divided into three age cohorts: young adults, ages 16 to 24; prime-age adults, ages 25 to 54; and older adults, ages 55 and above. As of June 2025, the 12-month moving average indicated that young adults made up 14.4 percent of the labor force, prime-age adults comprised 62.6 percent, and older adults represented 23 percent of Michigan’s workforce.

Michigan unemployment advanced while workforce participation fell over the year across most age groups.

Unemployment and Labor Force Participation Rates by Age Group, June 2024–June 2025 (12-month Annual Averages)

Unemployment Rate

Age	June 2024	June 2025	Over-the-Year Percentage Point Change
16-24	9.3%	12.7%	+3.4
25-54	2.9%	4.2%	+1.3
55+	3.2%	3.2%	0.0

 

Labor Force Participation Rate

Age	June 2024	June 2025	Over-the-Year Percentage Point Change
16-24	62.5%	61.4%	-1.1
25-54	84.1%	84.3%	+0.2
55+	36.8%	35.6%	-1.2

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Unemployment Among Young and Prime-Age Workers Up Since June 2024

A look at Michigan’s 12-month moving average unemployment data revealed that unemployment rates increased for the two age cohorts representing ages 16 to 54 between June 2024 and June 2025. Joblessness rose by 3.4 percentage points for young adult workers, while it advanced 1.3 percentage points for those of prime working age. Among older adults, the unemployment rate stayed flat over the year.

A closer examination demonstrated that young adults experienced the highest 12-month moving average jobless rate out of the three age groups in June 2025 (12.7 percent), followed distantly by prime-age workers (4.2 percent) and older workers (3.2 percent). Younger workers also experienced the largest uptick in joblessness, with a sustained increase beginning in fall 2024 and lasting through the present. Likewise, jobless rates for prime-age adults also moved up throughout the fall, surpassing the older adult unemployment rate by December 2024, though rates have stabilized at 4.2 percent since March 2025. While unemployment did spike among older adults during the summer months of 2024, rates have since trended down for this group and are now back at year-ago levels.

Michigan’s 12-month moving average unemployment rate exceeded that of its national counterpart for every age cohort in June 2025. The state’s jobless rate for young adults (12.7 percent) was 3.3 percentage points higher than the nation’s (9.5 percent), the largest gap among age groups. This disparity is up substantially from year-ago levels, when Michigan’s young adult unemployment rate was just 0.9 percentage points higher than the national average in June 2024. Michigan’s prime-age adult unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, was 0.7 percentage points greater than the national adult rate (3.5 percent). In contrast, in June 2024, the prime-age adult unemployment rate nationally (3.2 percent) exceeded Michigan’s rate (2.9 percent) by 0.3 percentage points. Joblessness among those ages 55 and older in the state was just 0.2 percentage points above the national rate of 3.0 percent. This difference was down slightly from 0.5 percentage points a year ago.