Michigan’s Unemployment Rate Hits 9.3%

by StockJockey

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 8:04 pm

Michigan is in bad shape, and things are about to get a lot worse, no matter what happens with the automaker bailout.

Is 12% possible by this time next year? I would not rule it out:

Michigan’s unemployment rate in October rose to 9.3 percent—a 16-year high—as the home of the beleaguered U.S. auto industry continued to shed manufacturing jobs, the state reported on Wednesday.

The new report comes as top executives from Detroit auto giants General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler LLC testify before Congress for a second day on Wednesday, pleading for federal bailout money to stave off bankruptcy.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 8.7 percent in September and was well above the 7.5 percent rate recorded in October 2007, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth said.

The national U.S. unemployment rate hit 6.5 percent in October—its highest since March 1994.

Michigan’s jobless rate last hit 9.3 percent in July 1992, said Bruce Weaver, the department’s economic analyst.

While the state’s job losses over the month were varied, Weaver said Michigan has lost 30,000 manufacturing jobs, including those in automotive industries, since October 2007. Reuters

There is no quick fix to what ails Detroit, but throwing the automakers under the bus will result in short term pain. Can we take it?

And are these numbers in the cards for the rest of America?
___________________________________________________________

Ouch!

________________________________________________________________

Michigan jobless rate hits 16-year high at 9.3 percent
Daily Me

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt - Mitt Romney
NYT

Previously
Michigan, the New Mississippi
1440 Wall Street
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author. No Position