Counties with the highest unemployment in Michigan
The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.
Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.
Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.
The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.
To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Michigan, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market
February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.
"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.
Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.
The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market
After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.
Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.
The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.
In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."
"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.
To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Michigan.
49. Gogebic County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,424 people (427 unemployed)
49. Shiawassee County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,662 people (2,290 unemployed)
48. Marquette County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,725 people (2,256 unemployed)
45. Monroe County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 80,260 people (5,456 unemployed)
45. Newaygo County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,486 people (1,595 unemployed)
45. Alpena County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,445 people (984 unemployed)
44. Wayne County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 829,423 people (57,051 unemployed)
42. Van Buren County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 37,080 people (2,581 unemployed)
42. Charlevoix County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,723 people (959 unemployed)
40. Otsego County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,536 people (907 unemployed)
40. Bay County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 51,303 people (3,718 unemployed)
38. Wexford County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,621 people (1,135 unemployed)
38. Genesee County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 192,068 people (13,995 unemployed)
36. Missaukee County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,313 people (541 unemployed)
36. Benzie County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,050 people (669 unemployed)
35. Saginaw County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 86,548 people (6,614 unemployed)
34. Kalkaska County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,831 people (684 unemployed)
33. Delta County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,082 people (1,358 unemployed)
30. Mason County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,744 people (1,015 unemployed)
30. Ontonagon County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8%
--- 1-month change: -0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,439 people (195 unemployed)
30. Tuscola County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 25,564 people (2,051 unemployed)
29. Huron County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,206 people (1,146 unemployed)
27. Manistee County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,806 people (881 unemployed)
27. Emmet County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,270 people (1,506 unemployed)
26. Antrim County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,621 people (881 unemployed)
25. Gladwin County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,112 people (932 unemployed)
23. Crawford County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,121 people (522 unemployed)
23. Keweenaw County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 862 people (73 unemployed)
22. Mecosta County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.7%
--- 1-month change: +2.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,553 people (1,528 unemployed)
21. Sanilac County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.9%
--- 1-month change: +2.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,180 people (1,713 unemployed)
20. Osceola County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9%
--- 1-month change: +2.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,866 people (976 unemployed)
19. Chippewa County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,956 people (1,646 unemployed)
18. Lake County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,851 people (457 unemployed)
17. Luce County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,162 people (206 unemployed)
16. Clare County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,231 people (1,175 unemployed)
15. Baraga County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,456 people (334 unemployed)
14. Iron County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,462 people (450 unemployed)
13. Arenac County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,916 people (720 unemployed)
11. Roscommon County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,290 people (1,079 unemployed)
11. Oceana County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.5%
--- 1-month change: +2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,404 people (1,203 unemployed)
10. Montmorency County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.9%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,816 people (416 unemployed)
9. Alger County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,437 people (379 unemployed)
8. Iosco County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.2%
--- 1-month change: +3.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,892 people (1,108 unemployed)
7. Ogemaw County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.9%
--- 1-month change: +3.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,921 people (945 unemployed)
5. Schoolcraft County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 12.2%
--- 1-month change: +2.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,557 people (435 unemployed)
5. Alcona County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 12.2%
--- 1-month change: +2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,433 people (418 unemployed)
4. Presque Isle County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 13.3%
--- 1-month change: +2.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,907 people (653 unemployed)
3. Oscoda County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 14.4%
--- 1-month change: +2.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +5.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,372 people (341 unemployed)
2. Cheboygan County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 15.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,156 people (1,687 unemployed)
1. Mackinac County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 21.6%
--- 1-month change: +3.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +3.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,938 people (1,069 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
