June 04, 2026
In April 2026, just under 213,500 online job advertisements were available in Michigan. This was a decrease of 3,600 ads (-1.7 percent) over the month and an increase of 29,800 ads (+16.3 percent) over the year. April marked the fourth consecutive month of over-the-year advertisement growth since 2026 began, indicating a general trend of elevated ads in 2026 compared to 2025. Of the total online job ads, just under 85,500 were newly posted, meaning they did not carry over from previous months.
Author:
Change in Michigan Online Job Advertisements from 2025 to 2026 by Month
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine®
The supply and demand rate measures the number of unemployed people (supply) to the number of available online job advertisements (demand) in Michigan for a given month. In April 2026, the rate of 1.02 represented approximately 102 unemployed people per every 100 available online advertisements. This means there were nearly equal numbers of unemployed people as online job advertisements. April marked the lowest supply and demand rate in 2026 because of both elevated job ads and reduced unemployment compared to previous months.
In preparation for the summer months, companies tend to post internship positions at the start of each year. From January 2026 to April 2026, just under 4,900 online job ads were posted for internship positions. This was an increase of just over 830 ads (+20.5 percent) from the first four months of 2025 and the most ads since the first four months of 2023.
Because internships are often reserved for students or trainees to gain practical experience, employers for these positions frequently require applicants to have a specific educational status. Of the internship postings for the first four months of 2026, 65.0 percent 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 an education requirement, 23.8 percent requested a high school diploma or GED, and 4.6 percent requested an associate degree. The remaining 71.6 percent requested a bachelor’s degree or higher, indicating that internship employers typically seek individuals pursuing postsecondary education.
During the first four months of 2026, internship ads were primarily posted in the most populous counties. Oakland (24.4 percent), Wayne (17.1 percent), and Kent (10.4 percent) counties made up the largest shares of these ads. Together, these three counties accounted for over half of the internship ads during this period. Although employers posted the most ads in these counties, the cities that made up the largest share of postings were Lansing (7.8 percent), Detroit (7.5 percent), and Grand Rapids (7.2 percent).
Over this period, employers from just over 1,000 companies sought out interns in Michigan. Of these companies, Magna International (190 ads), Walgreens Boots Alliance (120 ads), and Kroger (110 ads) posted the most internship ads. Because the companies posting these ads can vary widely in their goals, they require varying baseline skills. Communication (46.4 percent), operations (26.8 percent), and leadership (24.7 percent) skills were requested in the largest shares of internship ads.
Top Baseline Skills Requested in Internship Advertisements
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine®
More information about Michigan job advertisements can be found using the Michigan Online Job Advertisement Dashboard.
