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IRON MOUNTAIN -- The Upper Peninsula jobless rate was 4% in November, slightly higher than both the state rate of 3.6% and the national rate of 3.7%, according to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
Over the year, though, the number of jobless workers in the U.P. fell from 6,400 to 5,500, a decline of 14%.
Michigan's not seasonally adjusted jobless rate was down from 4.2% in October but up by a tenth of a percentage point from November 2022, when the rate was 3.5%.
The U.P. rate was down from 4.1% in October and 4.9% a year ago.
"Employment expanded in most regional labor markets during November," said Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics.
The U.P. was an exception, as preliminary data showed a civilian labor force of 137,700, which was down by 1,200 from October. However, the U.P. labor force grew by 5,400 workers over the year.
The U.P. had 132,100 workers employed in November and 5,500 unemployed. Over the month, total employment in the region was down by 0.9%. Over the year it was up by 4.1%.
"All 17 Michigan labor market areas demonstrated workforce increases over the year, with a median increase of 5.5%," Rourke said.
Menominee County had the lowest jobless rate in the U.P. in November at 3.1%, followed by Dickinson County at 3.3% and Houghton and Marquette counties, both at 3.4%.
Dickinson's rate was down by 0.3 percentage points from October, when it was 3.6%. The rate in November 2022 was 3.7%.
Dickinson's labor force numbered 12,277 in November, including 404 out of work. A year ago, the labor force totaled 12,008, including 448 jobless.
Iron County's November unemployment rate of 4.3% was unchanged from October and down from 5.2% in November 2022. The labor force total of 4,753 compared with 4,586 workers a year ago. There were 203 unemployed last month, while a year ago 239 were jobless.
The highest November jobless rate in both the U.P. and the state was Mackinac County at 8.4%.
Sixty-five of Michigan's 83 counties demonstrated unemployment rate decreases between October and November. Jobless rates fell in 76 counties over the year.
The U.S. jobless rate of 3.7% was down from 3.9% in October but up from 3.6% in November 2022. The rate in pre-pandemic November 2019 was 3.6%.