Unemployment Increases in Northeast Michigan
Even though the national economy is growing and inflation is slowly decreasing, it’s still been tough for people in northeast Michigan to find work.
Unemployment in the area is up nearly a whole percentage point in the last couple months and there are a few different factors as to why.
“It’s cyclical, and January does tend to be a slower time, so if that’s true for other businesses as well, there could be some layoffs happening,” said Employment Services Inc. Corporate Representative Jackie Krawczak.
Northeast Michigan is an area with lots of seasonal employment, and this time of year is when those kinds of jobs start to drop off in numbers. There are other reasons why as well, including the fact that jobs are out there, but they need to find the right people.
“We need people who can pass a drug test, who need people who don’t have a history, a negative history with us or our clients, people who want to work 40 hours per week, and they have a good work ethic, and that’s what we’re really struggling to find,” Krawczak said.
Another reason unemployment is high could be that there are still people still working their way back into the workforce after COVID–19. The best thing to do is reach out and see what’s out there.
“My guess is that some of them are re–entering, and so it’s going to boost that number up of unemployed because they’re now re–entering the search for work, so that also might affect that number as well, but we’re happy that they’re re–entering because those might be people we can hire,” Krawczak said.
Employment Services Incorporated, or ESI, is a private HR company that works with around 100 businesses, and they help people find full time jobs.
“Come see us if you’re laid off, come see us if you want to explore a new job opportunity, you’re looking to get ahead in your career, we might have opportunities for you, you just have to explore what’s out there,” Krawczak said.
As people continue to look for work in the area to drop the unemployment number back down, ESI is a resource they can use to do just that.
