February 11, 2026
Michigan total nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 5,100, or 0.1 percent, in December, bringing the seasonally adjusted total to 4,543,300. This marked the sixth consecutive month of job growth for the state, with employment advancing by 17,600, or 0.4 percent, since June 2025. Michigan ranked eighth among all states for numeric job gains during December.
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Monthly Job Change (Data in Thousands)
Source: Current Employment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Michigan job growth in December was largely concentrated in service-providing sectors. The Government (+3,700) sector recorded the largest numeric increase, followed by Private education and health services (+2,000) and Leisure and hospitality (+1,800). The Financial activities sector also expanded by 1,500 jobs, while smaller increases occurred in Manufacturing; Information; Other services; and Mining and logging. These advances were partially offset by declines in Construction (-3,800); Trade, transportation, and utilities (-1,200); and Professional and business services (-200) over the month.
Nationally, total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 50,000 jobs, or 0.0 percent, over the month. Job gains were led by Leisure and hospitality (+47,000); Private education and health services (+41,000); and Government (+13,000). The largest over-the-month job declines occurred in Trade, transportation, and utilities (-33,000); Construction (-11,000); and Professional and business services (-9,000).
Source: Current Employment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Since December 2024, Michigan payroll employment rose by 33,800, or 0.7 percent. Seven of the state’s 11 major industry sectors also added jobs over the year. The largest increases occurred in the Government (+13,600); Private education and health services (+11,200); Financial activities (+6,400); and Construction (+6,300) sectors. The only industries that experienced job declines over the year were Professional and business services (-5,500); Manufacturing (-1,600); Information (-300); and Mining and logging (-100).
Over the same period, U.S. payroll employment rose by 0.4 percent, 0.3 percentage points lower than the statewide increase. On a percentage basis, the largest national gains were in Private education and health services (+2.6 percent); Leisure and hospitality (+1.1 percent); and Other services (+1.0 percent). The Mining and logging sector experienced the largest percent decline nationally, falling by 2.6 percent over the year.
Preliminary annual average payroll job data for Michigan shows employment rose 0.9 percent in 2025, equal to the growth seen nationally. Eight of Michigan’s 11 major industry sectors added jobs during 2025. The only industries to see employment declines were Manufacturing (-1.5 percent); Professional and business services (-1.0 percent); and Mining and logging (-0.7 percent). Six industry sectors recorded job growth greater than the statewide average, with the greatest percent increase in the Construction sector, which saw a 4.3 percent increase over the year. Other notable increases in 2025 occurred in the state’s Financial activities (+2.9 percent) and Other services (+2.7 percent) sectors.
Source: Current Employment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
On a not seasonally adjusted basis, payroll employment fell in 14 of Michigan’s 15 metropolitan areas for December, which is typical for this time of year. The largest monthly declines occurred in Kalamazoo (-1.0 percent); Grand Rapids (-0.7 percent); Lansing (-0.6 percent); and Bay City (-0.6 percent). Michigan’s unadjusted employment decreased by 0.4 percent over the month, compared to a 0.1 percent decline nationally.
Over the year, 12 of Michigan’s 15 metro areas saw employment growth. The largest over-the-year employment gains were recorded in Traverse City (+1.7 percent); Jackson (+1.2 percent); and Muskegon (+1.2 percent). Midland (-1.2 percent) was the only area to see a decline in payroll employment over the year, while Bay City and Monroe were unchanged.
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.
