IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County’s jobless rate of 4.5% in January was the same as the rate in pre-pandemic January 2020, according to data released Thursday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.

The size of the civilian labor force, meanwhile, was up slightly over the two-year period, totaling 12,203 in January 2022 compared with 12,065 in January 2020. There were 555 workers listed as unemployed in January 2022, compared with 541 two years ago.

Dickinson County’s January jobless rate was up from a December rate of 3.7%, reflecting a statewide trend of seasonal jumps in unemployment. The reported jobless rates are not seasonally adjusted, officials noted.

Seasonal rate increases exhibited in regional labor markets in January were typical, said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Jobless rate advances ranged from 0.4 to 2.2 percentage points, with a median increase of 1.0 percentage point,” Rourke added.

The Upper Peninsula jobless rate of 6.3% in January compared with a rate of 5% in December, a 1.3 percentage-point advance that was slightly higher than the state average.

Employment declines occurred in most major statewide industries, especially trade, transportation, utilities and government, Rourke said. The Michigan jobless rate of 5.1% in January was up from 4.2% in December.

Over the year, unemployment rates fell in all counties as the state continued to see workers recalled from layoffs caused by the pandemic. The U.P. jobless rate in January was down by 1.6 percentage points from a year ago, as was Dickinson County’s rate.

The unemployment rate in Iron County in January was 6.9%, up from 5.4% in December but down from 8.3% in January 2021. Iron County’s jobless rate in January 2020 was 6.3%.

The civilian labor force in Iron County totaled 4,779 in January, with 330 unemployed. In pre-pandemic January 2020, the labor force totaled 4,953, including 314 looking for work.

Menominee County showed the lowest jobless rate in the U.P. in January at 4.1%, while Dickinson’s 4.5% rate was second-lowest. The highest jobless rate in the U.P. and the state was Mackinac County at 17%.

COUNTY RATE

Menominee …………. 4.1%

Dickinson …………… 4.5%

Houghton …………… 4.9%

Marquette ………… 5.3%

Gogebic ……………… 5.5%

Delta ………………… 6.5%

Keweenaw …………… 6.6%

Iron …………………… 6.9%

Ontonagon ………… 7.3%

Luce ………………… 7.4%

Chippewa …………… 7.7%

Baraga ……………… 8.8%

Alger ………………… 9.1%

Schoolcraft ………… 10%

Mackinac …………… 17%

U.P. …………………… 6.3%

Michigan …………… 5.1%

U.S ………………… 4.0%