IRON MOUNTAIN — Jobless rates climbed across Michigan in December as labor markets experienced pandemic-related and seasonal job cuts, according to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.

Jobless rate advances ranged from 0.2 to 1.7 percentage points in Michigan regions, with a median increase of six-tenths of a percentage point, said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives.

The Upper Peninsula rate rose by a full percentage point from November to December, reaching 5.3%.

Dickinson County’s unemployment rate of 4.4% in December compared with a state rate of 7.3%. Dickinson’s rate was the third-lowest in the Upper Peninsula and the 11th-lowest in Michigan. Iron County’s jobless rate in December was 5.2%.

The November jobless rate in Dickinson County was 3.8%, while Iron County’s was 4%.

The Upper Peninsula’s civilian labor force of 132,800 in December was down by 4,500 from November. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed climbed by 1,200 to reach 7,000.

Surprisingly, the U.P.’s jobless rate was down by 0.3 percentage points from December 2019. That was at least partly due, however, to having 2,900 fewer workers in the labor force.

Preliminary data for the entire year shows regional jobless rates rose significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rourke said. “Rates jumped by 3.0 to 7.5 percentage points, with a median increase of 4.9 percentage points,” he said.

The data shows a preliminary annual average unemployment rate of 8.4% in the Upper Peninsula in 2020, which compares to 5.4% in 2019. For the state, the average jobless rate in 2020 was 9.7%, up from 4.1% in 2019.

“Since December 2019, Michigan non-farm jobs fell substantially by 483,000, or 10.8%,” Rourke noted.

All 83 Michigan counties demonstrated jobless rate hikes in December 2020, led by a seasonal increase in Mackinac County of 5.3 percentage points. Mackinac’s jobless rate rose to 12.6%, the highest in the state.

Menominee County had the lowest jobless rate in the Upper Peninsula in December at 3.9%, followed by Houghton at 4.2%.

COUNTY RATE

Menominee…………3.9%

Houghton………….4.2%

Dickinson…………4.4%

Marquette…………4.6%

Gogebic…………..5.0%

Iron……………..5.2%

Delt……………..5.4%

Chippewa………….6.0%

Keweenaw…. ……..6.0%

Luce……………..6.4%

Ontonagon…. …….6.4%

Schoolcraft……….6.7%

Baraga……………7.1%

Alger…………….7.6%

Mackinac…………12.6%

U.P………………5.3%

Michigan………….7.3%