Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates rose in 13 of Michigan’s 18 labor market areas between September and November.

That’s according to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

Michigan regional unemployment rates ranged from 4 to 6.4% in November, with a median rate increase of 0.2 percentage points between September and November.

The largest rate gain during the period occurred in the Northeast Lower Michigan region (+1.1 percentage points). Three Michigan regions exhibited jobless rate declines between September and November, and unemployment rates remained unchanged in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) since September.

Total employment and regional labor force levels were both down between September and November, and down over the year.

County unemployment rates were up between September and November, and mixed over the year.

Livingston County’s unemployment rate stood at 3.8% for November – ranking 3rd out of all of Michigan’s 83 counties.

Washtenaw County ranked 8th at 4%; Oakland ranked 12th at 4.2%; Genesee ranked 57th at 5.6%; and Ingham County ranked 19th at 4.4%.

Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, said “Employment and workforce declines contributed to unemployment rate gains between September and November. Payroll job trends were mixed over the month.”

Regional workforce totals fell in 17 Michigan labor market areas between September and November, with a median decrease of 1.2%.

Due to the suspension of federal government services from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, October 2025 employment, labor force, and unemployment data will not be published. Household survey data were not collected for October 2025 and were not collected retroactively.

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