January 2026 Marks a Record High for Newly Posted Online Job Advertisements in Michigan

Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine®

The occupations that made up the largest shares of the online job advertisements in January were Registered nurses (4.3 percent), Retail salespersons (3.7 percent), and First-line supervisors of retail sales workers (2.6 percent). Registered nurses and Retail salespersons are often the most advertised occupations in Michigan. This month, First-line supervisors of retail sales workers overtook Home health and personal care aides and Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers to become the third-most advertised occupation.

Employers in Health care and social assistance (16.1 percent), Retail trade (11.3 percent), and Manufacturing (9.7 percent) industries made up the largest shares of online job ads in January. These industries typically lead online demand each month and all three saw increases from December 2025. Health care and social assistance rose by 1,700 ads (+5.7 percent), Retail trade by 3,100 ads (+15.0 percent), and Manufacturing by 1,600 ads (+9.0 percent).

Spotlight: Detroit Metro Prosperity Region

The Detroit Metro Prosperity Region is encompassed by Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. Although this region only contains three of the 83 counties within Michigan, data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates nearly 39 percent of Michigan’s population resides here. In January 2026, roughly 77,300 online job ads were posted for this region, about 41 percent of Michigan’s advertisements for the month.

In January, 56 percent of the jobs posted for the Detroit Metro Prosperity Region listed a minimum education requirement. A minimum education requirement lists the lowest level of education an employer will accept, but employers may prefer a higher level. Of the postings that listed a minimum education required, about 46 percent requested a high school diploma or GED, and 9 percent requested an associate degree. The remaining 45 percent requested a bachelor’s degree or higher. Of the statewide ads, a similar share listed a minimum education requirement, but a greater proportion required a high school diploma or GED (51 percent) and fewer required a bachelor’s degree or higher (39 percent). This suggests that employers in the Detroit Metro Prosperity Region sought a higher level of education than employers statewide.

Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine®

Mimicking the statewide trend, the Health care and social assistance (16.7 percent), Manufacturing (11.8 percent), and Retail trade (10.9 percent) industries accounted for the largest shares of online job postings. Although the top industries remained the same, the share of advertisements posted for the Manufacturing industry was 2.1 percentage points larger in the Detroit Metro Prosperity Region than statewide. This indicates that there was a stronger job demand for Manufacturing within the region.

Overall, the Detroit Metro region was responsible for over 47 percent of all Manufacturing related advertisements in the state during January 2026. This highlights the large presence the industry has within the region. Additionally, the region held a significant portion of all Michigan advertisements in Arts, entertainment, and recreation (58.0 percent) and Professional, scientific, and technical services (48.6 percent). In contrast, it accounted for a smaller—though still sizeable—share of statewide postings in Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (26.2 percent); Public administration (26.0 percent); and Educational services (22.5 percent).

More information about Michigan job advertisements can be found using the Michigan Online Job Advertisement Dashboard.