LANSING, MI — Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April was 5.4 percent, matching the national average for the first time since September of 2000, according to the Department of Technology Management and Budget.
That’s the month the musical Cats closed on Broadway, the Summer Olympics opened in Sydney and Emmys went to The West Wing and Will & Grace.
Pop culture aside, the news last time the state and national unemployment rates matched was a bit rosier. At that time, the rate was 3.9 percent. Before that time in 2000, Michigan’s unemployment rate was at or below the national rate for more than six years with the exception of July 1998.
Back in 2009, Michigan had the highest unemployment rate in the nation. The state’s clawed its way back over years to today’s rate, on par with the national average.
“Reaching the national average after being dead last has been a priority as we’ve worked to reinvent Michigan. To appreciate how far we’ve come, we need to remember where we began – ranked No. 50 in the nation. We’ve cut Michigan’s unemployment rate by more than half since the end of 2010, creating nearly 400,000 private sector jobs,” said Gov. Rick Snyder in a statement. MORE