Michigan and Ohio labor markets still struggling to recover

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Snapshot for July 11, 2007.

Michigan and Ohio labor markets still struggling to recover

by Michael Ettlinger and Liana Fox 

Since November 2001, the end of the most recent recession, the economy has created more than 7 million new jobs—increasing employment by over 5%. Although this growth is not especially strong relative to past recoveries, and weak wage growth shows that the labor market is far from strong, it is growth.

However, the growth has not been evenly distributed throughout the country. Three states, in fact, have lost jobs since the recession ended: Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio. Massachusetts, though it has not yet broken even with November 2001 jobs levels, has seen consistent job growth since January of 2004.

But Michigan and Ohio have continued to lose jobs. The problem, not surprisingly, is in manufacturing. Michigan and Ohio have lost 159,000 and 136,000 manufacturing jobs, respectively, since November 2001 (see table below). Ohio's losses add up to just under 15% of the state's manufacturing jobs, while Michigan has lost about 20%—or one in five—of such jobs. Only California, a much bigger state, has lost a greater number of manufacturing jobs.

Job change by state since the end of the recession, November 2001-May 2007

 

           

 

Total non-farm job change (in thousands) Percent change   Manufacturing job change (in thousands) Percent change  

UNITED STATES

6,948 5.3%   -1,777 -11.2%  

 

           

 

           

 

           

NORTHEAST

530 2.1%   -465 -17.1%  

New England

67 1.0%   -146 -17.0%  

Maine

12 2.0%   -11 -15.8%  

New Hampshire

24 3.9%   -15 -16.4%  

Vermont

8 2.5%   -8 -18.1%  

Massachusetts

-20 -0.6%   -72 -19.4%  

Rhode Island

23 4.8%   -14 -21.2%  

Connecticut

20 1.2%   -26 -12.0%  

 

           

Middle Atlantic

464 2.6%   -319 -17.2%  

New York

211 2.5%   -125 -18.4%  

New Jersey

99 2.5%   -67 -17.5%  

Pennsylvania

153 2.7%   -127 -16.1%  

 

           

 

           

 

           

MIDWEST

352 1.1%   -545 -11.1%  

East North Central

-62 -0.3%   -483 -13.4%  

Ohio

-57 -1.0%   -136 -14.9%  

Indiana

69 2.4%   -37 -6.3%  

Illinois

67 1.1%   -103 -13.2%  

Michigan

-210 -4.7%   -159 -20.3%  

Wisconsin

70 2.5%   -47 -8.6%  

 

           

 

           

West North Central

414 4.2%   -62 -4.8%  

Minnesota

113 4.2%   -23 -6.3%  

Iowa

70 4.8%   1 0.5%  

Missouri

95 3.5%   -33 -10.0%  

North Dakota

29 8.9%   2 9.7%  

South Dakota

32 8.4%   4 9.2%  

Nebraska

41 4.5%   -7 -6.2%  

Kansas

35 2.6%   -6 -3.2%  

 

           

 

           

SOUTH

3,400 7.4%   * *  

South Atlantic

2,096 8.6%   * *  

Delaware

23 5.5%   * *  

Maryland

140 5.7%   -30 -18.1%  

District of Columbia

40 6.1%   * *  

Virginia

281 8.0%   -45 -13.5%  

West Virginia

25 3.4%   -11 -15.2%  

North Carolina

245 6.4%   -125 -18.6%  

South Carolina

120 6.6%   -58 -19.1%  

Georgia

243 6.2%   -40 -8.2%  

Florida

978 13.7%   -30 -7.1%  

 

           

East South Central

357 4.8%   * *  

Kentucky

67 3.7%   -26 -9.1%  

Tennessee

141 5.3%   -47 -10.7%  

Alabama

113 6.0%   * *  

Mississippi

36 3.2%   -22 -11.1%  

 

           

West South Central

948 6.8%   * *  

Arkansas

61 5.3%   -27 -12.4%  

Louisiana

2 0.1%   -12 -7.2%  

Oklahoma

65 4.4%   * *  

Texas

819 8.7%   -64 -6.4%  

 

           

 

           

WEST

2,597 9.3%   * *  

Mountain

1,308 15.3%   * *  

Montana

54 13.9%   0 -0.5%  

Idaho

89 15.8%   -1 -0.8%  

Wyoming

36 14.6%   * *  

Colorado

120 5.5%   -25 -14.3%  

New Mexico

88 11.6%   -2 -4.6%  

Arizona

470 20.9%   -6 -3.3%  

Utah

179 16.7%   10 8.4%  

Nevada

271 26.1%   9 20.9%  

 

           

 

           

 

           

Pacific

1,290 6.6%   * *  

Washington

245 9.2%   -14 -4.5%  

Oregon

143 9.0%   -5 -2.4%  

California

790 5.5%   -212 -12.4%  

Alaska

30 10.3%   1 11.7%  

Hawaii

82 15.0%   * *  

 

           

 

           

 

 

Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Current Employment Statistics survey data.