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Michigan sees decrease in the number of people filing for unemployment

Michigan sees decrease in the number of people filing for unemployment
Posted at 10:35 AM, May 14, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-14 10:35:43-04

Michigan saw a decrease in the number of people filing for unemployment, according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Labor Department.

According to the labor department, the state still has the second-highest unemployment rate in the country.

As of last week, there are now an estimate 988,272 people unemployed in Michigan. That's down from 1.1 million the week before.

People have started going back to work as auto suppliers and real-estate and commercial construction have resumed in the last two weeks.

There were fewer initial unemployment insurance claims than last week. The state cites fewer layoffs in the health care and social assistance, manufacturing, and retail trade industries.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 25 were in California (27.7), Michigan (23.1), Nevada (22.0), Pennsylvania (21.2), Rhode Island (20.6), Georgia (20.2), Vermont (20.0), New York (18.6), Connecticut (18.0), and Washington (18.0).

Weekly figures from the Department of Labor indicate 3 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment last week. A total of 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment assistance in the last eight weeks.

Surveys indicate those figures may actually underrepresent total job losses. Last week, the Department of Labor said the unemployment rate had risen from 4.4 precent to 14.7 percent.