Employment levels in Michigan have returned to pre-pandemic levels

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A new report from the Center for Data and Analysis suggests that jobs are back to pre-pandemic levels.

“The climb has been slow,” said Paul Isley, an economics professor at Grand Valley State University.

“It certainly took people a while to get back into the workforce after coming out of Covid. Companies have certainly had to adapt and rethink some things. People haven’t really gone back to that way of working. So it took a while,” Isley continued.

Some key findings from the report show that unemployment is at a 20-year low.

Hourly wages also average $32 in the private sector. Despite this, the report noted that real earnings remained at the same level as in 2019.

“We’ve certainly seen an increase in hourly wages and they continue to do so. Weekly take-homes are more muted. People make more per hour, but they probably work fewer hours,” Isley explained.

Progress has also been made across demographic groups, such as Michigan narrowing the gender wage gap.

The report includes data through mid-2024. Isley has a glimpse of what 2025 might look like.

“We expect the labor market to continue to be somewhat weak early next year as people know who the president will be and as we make several more interest rate cuts,” Isley said.

The study concludes that overall job growth will be moderate. There is an increase in the number of jobs in private education and health care, with a decline in the number of jobs in industry.

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