WIOA State Plan Common Elements

The number of students earning a Bachelor’s degree has been slightly increasing the past five years, culminating in a five-year high of 60,286 completers in 2015. Approximately 40 percent of all postsecondary graduates earned a Bachelor’s degree in 2015. Students earning a postsecondary certificate or degree below a Bachelor’s, such as an Associate’s degree or certificate requiring less than one year of study, have been in decline the past three years. The total number of students earning such degrees is almost 10 percent lower than its high of 60,150 students in 2012. In contrast, the number of students earning credentials above a Bachelor’s degree has stayed relatively constant the past five years.

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF MICHIGAN RESIDENTS

Educational attainment of Michigan residents is another useful indicator of skills in the state’s current workforce. It shows the available supply for high-end positions that require an advanced degree, and by looking at breakdowns by age, can track the trends of degree obtaining individuals. However, the portion of the supply pool that does not have a degree is not necessarily unskilled, and should not be viewed that way. As seen in the incoming supply section, many of those workers are still being trained with apprenticeships, career technical training, or other programs that do not grant a degree.

The largest educational attainment group of residents in Michigan over 25 are those who have attained a high school diploma or equivalent reward, with the second largest group being those who have received a Bachelor’s degree or higher. These two groups are reversed when looking at the United States, with those receiving a Bachelor’s or higher degree at three percentage points higher than in Michigan. Michigan does, however, have a higher percentage of residents with some college but no degree relative to the United States, as well as a higher percentage of those with an Associate’s degree.

Michigan as a whole has been getting more educated over time. The oldest age cohort, 65 and older, has the smallest percentage in every educational category above high school, except for the 18-24 age cohort, many of whom are too young to have obtained an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree. Bachelor’s degrees or higher have been increasing in every age cohort in Michigan, but continue to lag behind the overall numbers for the United States in every age group. But, the gap has been shrinking, with the 65 and older age group three percentage points behind the United States, and the 18-24 age group only one percentage point behind the United States. One reason that Michigan would have a lower percentage with at least a Bachelor’s degree, especially in the older age cohorts, is that Michigan has traditionally had a very strong manufacturing sector, which provided numerous jobs that did not require a four year degree. Now that the manufacturing sector has weakened, Michigan residents have begun looking to get a higher education to compete in the job market. Another factor pointing to this reasoning is that Michigan does have a lower percentage of residents with no high school diploma at every age level than the United States as a whole, showing that Michigan is better than average at getting its children to finish secondary school. With more high school graduates, one would expect a higher number of people going on to college to get degrees, but many residents viewed that as unnecessary, since there were plenty of good jobs that did not require college degrees.

There is a large divide in educational attainment by race (Figure 5-9). Asians lead the way with over 60 percent of those over 25 years old having a Bachelor’s degree or higher in Michigan, far outpacing every other racial category. This is consistent with what is happening at the national level, although not quite as pronounced, with over 50 percent of this group having a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Whites are the next highest, with American Indians and Alaskan Natives being the lowest with only 14 percent having a Bachelor’s degree or higher, which is also consistent with the United States levels. Blacks or African Americans are the most likely in Michigan to have no high school diploma, at 15 percent, which is the same rate nationally. In Michigan, Asians are the only race to have a higher percentage of people with a Bachelor’s degree or higher than have a high school diploma. They are also the only race that has a higher percentage of Bachelor’s degrees or higher in Michigan than the United States average.

While there are more women at every educational attainment level above high school, this is a bit misleading, because there are also more women in the state overall. When looking at the percentages, women were about equal with men at acquiring a Bachelor’s or higher degree, but they do outpace men in acquiring Associate’s degrees, having some college with no degree, and in at least finishing high school. It is important to note that despite equaling or exceeding men in educational attainment, women lag well behind in labor force participation.

Men aged 16 to 64 are ahead overall in the labor force with 76 percent reporting having worked in the past year, compared to only 70 percent of women. Men also greatly outpace women in working full-time, with 61 percent reporting having worked 35 or more hours per week, compared to only 45 percent of women reporting the same.

STEM AND PROFESSIONAL TRADES

Occupations can be grouped together to create several key occupational clusters that help to better understand the current labor supply in Michigan. One such category is professional trades occupations, which are mostly middle-skill jobs that require training after high school, but typically require less than a Bachelor’s degree. Some of the most common jobs in this category in Michigan are: Electricians; Maintenance and repair workers; Machinists; Automotive service technicians and mechanics; and Computer user support specialists. Michigan has 462,750 jobs in professional trade occupations, which is 11 percent of all jobs in Michigan.

Another important group is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) jobs. This group is made up of occupations that typically a require Bachelor’s degree or higher. The top five jobs in this category in Michigan are: Mechanical engineers; Industrial engineers; Software developers, applications; Computer user support specialists; and Computer systems analysts. All of these positions, except for Computer user support specialists, require at least a Bachelor’s degree. In Michigan there were 304,430 STEM jobs in 2016, which is 7.2 percent of all jobs in Michigan, compared to only 6.3 percent nationwide, and ranks 8th overall in STEM job concentration in the United States. The two Metropolitan Statistical Area’s (MSA) in Michigan with the highest concentration of STEM occupations are Ann Arbor and Detroit, both of which rank highly nationally. Ann Arbor has the 10th highest concentration in the United States at 12.5 percent of all jobs in that area, likely due to the largest university and employer in the state being in this area. The Detroit MSA ranks 29th nationally with 9.3 percent of all jobs in STEM, led by the high concentration of Mechanical and Industrial engineers in the region.

Looking at the number of jobs that require a Bachelor’s degree or higher, based on a Bureau of Labor Statistics list, can give an indication of the number of high-level jobs in the Michigan labor market. Michigan had 1,063,530 jobs that require a Bachelor’s or higher degree, which is 25.2 percent of all jobs statewide, and ranked 20th nationally. One interesting thing to note is that according to the American Community Survey, 1,791,892 residents of Michigan over 25 have Bachelor’s degrees or higher, many more than are in jobs that require a degree. Of those, 265,911 are not currently working at all, leaving 1,525,981 workers with a degree, meaning only 69.7 percent of all people in Michigan with degrees that are working, are in jobs that require a Bachelor’s degree or higher. However, this is higher than the amount nationally, where only 66.5 percent of workers with a Bachelor’s degree or higher are working in a job that requires a degree.

EXISTING IN-DEMAND INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS

The State of Michigan interprets the phrase “in-demand industry that leads to economic self-sufficiency” as sizeable (minimum of 10,000 jobs), growing industries that pays a high wage (above the average for all industries).

The State also defines the term “existing” as industries that show high employment growth in the past two years (2014-2016), pay well, and are projected to grow in the short run (until 2018).

Two years ago, when the state plan was first submitted, Transportation equipment manufacturing was ranked first among the top 20 in-demand industries. Today, the industry is ranked 10th. After a strong growth following the 2009 recession, job expansion in this industry has slowed down to a little over two percent between 2014 and 2016; this compared to an earlier growth rate of more than 12 percent over the 2012-14 period.

Fourteen of the current top 20 in-demand industries also made the list two years ago. The remaining six industries are new, including Credit intermediation and related activities, Miscellaneous manufacturing, Electrical equipment and appliances manufacturing, Food manufacturing, Hospitals, and Social assistance.

The fourteen industries that continued to make the list of the top 20 existing in-demand industries included (among others) Professional, scientific, and technical services, now ranked first, and Management of companies and enterprises ranked second. Two construction subsectors (Specialty trade contractors and Construction of buildings) also continued to be in-demand and moved up in ranking (third and fourth). However, Heavy and civil engineering construction (which was second on the list two years ago) did not make the current list.

Several healthcare and social assistance industries are now in demand, including Ambulatory health care services, Hospitals, and Social assistance services.

Manufacturing is still important to Michigan’s economy; five of the top 20 in-demand industries today are in this sector; only four made the list two years ago.

IN-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS

Like in the case of industries, the State of Michigan believes that “existing” refers to current while “emerging” denotes future in-demand occupations.

Existing In-Demand Occupations

These are occupations that are showing high real-time demand today; are projected to continue to grow in the short run (until 2018); and offer a relatively high wage.

Seven new occupations, which were not in-demand two years ago, are now on the list of the top 25 existing in-demand careers in Michigan. These include Market Research Analysts, Electricians, Personal Financial Advisors; Security, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents, Industrial Machinery Mechanics, Civil Engineers, and Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters. Three of these seven new “hot” careers are in Construction, reflecting the strong recovery this industry has experienced recently, and which is projected to continue at least until 2018.

Careers in demand today in Michigan continued to show a mix of occupations in terms of educational requirements as they did two years ago. Four of the top 25 occupations require less than an Associate’s degree, three of them are in Construction and one in Manufacturing. Similarly, most of existing in-demand occupations today are in engineering (four), management (six), and technology (six).

Current existing in-demand occupations in Michigan are projected to grow between 2.4 and 5.5 percent in the short-run (2016-2018); this is above the all-occupation average projected expansion rate of 2.2 percent over the same period. The pay range across these occupations is between $24.84 for Computer User Support Specialists and Industrial Machinery Mechanics to a little over $60 an hour for Marketing Managers and Computer and Information Systems Managers (Figure 6-2).

EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

According to long-term projections released in 2016, Michigan is expected to add over 327,000 new jobs between 2014 and 2024, registering modest job growth at an average rate of 0.7 percent per year and similar to the expected national average employment growth rate of 0.6 percent for the same period. Businesses expected to drive most of Michigan’s job gains through 2024 range from healthcare and professional service providers to goods-producers in manufacturing and construction-related industries. On the occupational side, Computer and mathematical, Healthcare support, and Architecture and engineering are projected to be among the fastest-growing occupational groups, while jobs in Office and administrative, Sales and related, and Production are expected to be among the top contributors of overall job demand, which includes not only growth but also replacement needs. Jobs requiring more than a high school diploma or GED are expected to expand by 8.7 percent, while those requiring high school or less are projected to move up by 6.6 percent through 2024. The average rate of increase across all jobs in Michigan for the 10-year forecast period is 7.4 percent.

Using the most recent statewide long-term data, the state has published analyses on growing and high demand jobs and also jobs with unique skills. Michigan’s Hot 50 and the Going Pro campaign provide specific examples of this work and are briefly discussed later in this chapter. Additionally, a special analysis of STEM-related occupational projections is discussed.

LONG-TERM INDUSTRY JOB OUTLOOK

Michigan employment is projected to grow by a relatively moderate 7.4 percent over the 10-year period ending in 2024. While seemingly lower than previous long-term projections, it is important to note that this current set of future estimates assumes at least some economic slowing nationally and that Michigan will follow suit. The current national employment projections for this same period place overall job growth at a slightly lower 6.8 percent.

It should be cautioned that any projected job growth could potentially be limited by an inability of employers to acquire workers who are qualified to fill vacancies. If the skillset of the available labor pool is inadequate to meet the increasing needs of employers, actual employment growth over the long term could fall short of the projected amount. Accordingly, however, an influx of talented workers into the labor force that are readily available and able to match themselves with businesses who need them could expand long-term growth beyond the projected amount.

In the early years of Michigan’s recovery from the Great Recession, a number of industry sectors drove job growth statewide, from auto-related job gains in Manufacturing to advances in Construction and Professional and business services. However, over the longer term, Michigan’s ever-present workforce and population aging concerns continue to fuel demand for both inpatient and outpatient healthcare and related services. Consequently, the Health care and social assistance sector is projected to lead Michigan’s industry job growth. Nearly one in four new jobs statewide is expected to come from expansion in this sector, despite a recent slowdown of new job creation in some sub-sectors of this industry, such as hospitals. The 12.4 percent total projected job gain in this sector (1.2 percent annually) should significantly outpace the overall average in Michigan, yet will fall short of the United States projected growth rate of 21 percent in this sector over the forecast period (Figure 7-1).

Professional and business services is another important sector expected to drive long-term employment growth in Michigan. This field, which includes a wide variety of industries such as accounting, engineering, and technology services, ranks second in terms of the most new expected jobs in Michigan, with a 43,700 increase during the projection period (13 percent of the statewide total). It is also expected to be the fastest-growing two-digit industry sector at 15.9 percent through 2024, over twice the projected average growth rate for all jobs. Jobs in this field, like Health care, generally require skills, education, knowledge and expertise well beyond a high school diploma, and illustrate previously-mentioned concerns regarding labor availability and its impact on long-term economic growth.

Despite a slightly below-average anticipated job growth rate of 6.2 percent compared to 7.4 percent overall, Manufacturing remains a key industry in Michigan’s employment outlook. The sector’s expected gain of 35,000 jobs through 2024 will account for over one in ten new jobs statewide. Additionally, this industry is a key source of income to the Michigan economy, as Manufacturing workers earn wages that are 31 percent above the private sector average.

Not represented in Figure 7-1 are industries expected to decrease in employment size by 2024. Three sectors, Mining, Utilities,? and Government (Public Administration) are expected to lose jobs during the projection period. The Government sector, which in the data provided excludes educational and health services, is estimated to lose nearly 2,600 jobs or roughly one percent of its 2014 base level. Most of the job losses will be seen at the state and federal levels, with local government showing only a minor uptick in employment through 2024.

LONG-TERM OCCUPATIONAL JOB OUTLOOK

A look at the projected growth of Michigan’s employment by industry is useful from a business and economic development perspective, but fails to tell the whole story of future employment opportunities, especially for educational, workforce development, and job-seeking data users. Occupational data provides users with another way to examine Michigan’s projected job outlook by focusing on the specific roles that workers play in the labor market rather than the industries in which they work. In addition to the 327,000 new jobs estimated statewide through the projection period, job demand will also arise out of vacancies created due to a need to replace workers permanently leaving a position (e.g. retirement, change in career). When factoring in openings due to replacement, it is estimated that there will be over 1.4 million employment opportunities in Michigan between 2014 and 2024.

The occupational projections also provide insight on average education and training requirements for job titles. Occupations requiring higher levels of education and training are expected to drive much of the new job growth through 2024. For example, nearly 80 percent of occupations found within the projected top five fastest-growing occupational groups will require a Bachelor’s degree or higher, while only half that share of all occupations statewide (41 percent) require this level of education (Figure 7-2).

That is not to say, however, that demand for jobs requiring less education will be necessarily low. For a complete picture of employment demand, it is necessary to look at occupations with high projected rates of expansion as well as those generating the most job openings (Figure 7-2). Only one occupational group, Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, is found on both the list of top five fastest-growing groups and the top five in terms of total job openings. This latter group measures occupational employment demand due to replacement needs in addition to the number of new jobs. For example, the five occupational groups in the bottom category of Figure 7-2 are expected to account for half of the total job openings statewide (71,000 annually out of 141,300 statewide) through 2024.

STEM OUTLOOK AND SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS

STEM Occupational Outlook

STEM occupations in Michigan are projected to grow significantly faster than overall jobs between 2014 and 2024. While total statewide employment is expected to grow by only 7.4 percent, STEM jobs are expected to almost double that rate, increasing by 13.3 percent. Roughly one out of every eight new Michigan jobs during this period will be a STEM occupation, with these occupations expected to expand from an estimated 6.9 percent share of total jobs in 2014 to about 7.3 percent by 2024.

Much of the anticipated STEM job growth will be driven by the Professional and business services sector, which is projected to outpace employment growth for all other sectors in Michigan over the ten-year forecast period. While STEM occupations are concentrated throughout much of this broad sector, some related industries contained therein are particularly notable, including Architectural, engineering, and related services, which is expected to add 13,320 new jobs (+16.3 percent) and Computer systems design and related services (10,390 new jobs, 22.3 percent growth). But STEM occupations are not limited to the Professional and business services sector. In fact, they are found across a wide range of industries in Michigan, including most manufacturing industries — especially Transportation equipment manufacturing which employs many of the state’s engineers — as well as healthcare-related industries, financial and insurance-related, Information, and Administrative and support services, to name a few.

Though STEM occupations are broadly defined, the bulk of these jobs are contained within the Computer and mathematical and Architecture and engineering occupational groups. As seen in Figure 7-2, these two groups are expected to grow by 15.2 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively, between 2014 and 2024, and combined should add over 33,000 new jobs during this period. Total STEM occupations overall are forecast to increase by nearly 41,000 jobs and, after factoring replacement opportunities into the mix, provide almost 11,000 average openings annually during this time. Figure 7-3 provides information on projected growth rates for the top 10 STEM occupations based on a favorable mix of projected numeric change, growth rates, and total annual openings.

Michigan’s Hot 50 Jobs

Michigan’s Hot 50 Jobs, produced biennially, is a popular publication among workforce developers, educators and state and local decision-makers. This product uses the Michigan Long-Term Occupational Employment Projections in conjunction with Occupational Employment Statistics wage data to rank and lists occupations that show favorable long-term job growth, expected annual openings, and above-average wages statewide. While valued amongst a variety of data users, the publication is intended as a guide for students and jobseekers who are seeking training or postsecondary education paths towards promising careers.

Occupations on this list can generally require anything from on-the-job training or an apprenticeship up to a doctoral degree. Together, these 50 occupations account for 17.4 percent of the state’s employment in 2014, but are expected to contribute 31.5 percent of the state’s job growth in the period from 2014 through 2024. These occupations earn a median wage of about $63,700 annually and have an average projected growth rate of 13.4 percent—nearly double the average occupational growth rate of 7.4 percent.

One notable feature of Michigan’s Hot 50 is that these occupations offer a variety of opportunities for those seeking career information. For example, jobseekers looking for more immediate placement might choose to pursue one of the fourteen middle-skill occupations found within this list, such as Electricians, Machinists, Physical therapist assistants, or Web developers. These jobs require a somewhat shorter time frame for skill investment, yet provide relatively high wages and are in demand; the middle-skill jobs found in the Hot 50 pay a median wage of about $46,500, and will create 33,430 new jobs by 2024.

Those taking a different approach to career opportunities find value in the Hot 50 as well. Students and those making a longer-term investment in a career change will find 36 jobs on this list that require at least a Bachelor’s degree and pay a median annual wage of $85,400. These well-paid occupations include STEM occupations such as Civil engineers, Network and computer systems administrators, and Physical therapists as well as several non-STEM careers such as Management analysts, Lawyers, and Personal financial advisors, and will account for nearly 70,000 of Michigan’s 327,000 new jobs through 2024. This is just over 20 percent of all new jobs by 2024.

Going Pro Hot Jobs

Michigan’s Going Pro Hot Jobs were created to serve a very similar purpose to the Michigan Hot 50, but is instead wholly focused on middle-skill occupations. Occupations included here are still fairly diverse across several occupational categories, such as Computer and mathematical, Healthcare, and Architecture and engineering as well as professional trades occupations found in Construction & extraction, Installation, maintenance & repair, and Production. Occupations on this list are expected to grow at combined rate of 14.8 percent through 2024, double the Michigan average of 7.4 percent. These occupations require at least long-term on-the-job training and at most an Associate’s degree, but they earn a median annual wage of $45,800.

Of the 25 Going Pro Hot Jobs, 23 pay a median wage of more than $20 per hour, 22 are projected to have double-digit percent growth through 2024, and 16 require less than an Associate’s degree.

Leading these occupations in terms of percentage growth is CNC machine tool programmers, metal and plastic, an in-demand occupation that is expected to expand 28.7 percent through 2024. Although they require only a high school diploma and long-term on-the-job training to enter the occupation, these positions offer a median wage of $49,275. Additionally, the two largest occupations in the Going Pro Hot Jobs, Machinists and Computer user support specialists, are each expected to experience double-digit percent growth from 2014 through 2024, providing many new openings for potential jobseekers.

LABOR MARKET STATUS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requires states to address the employment and labor status of “individuals with barriers to employment, including individuals with disabilities.” [WIOA, Section 102(b)(1)(B)].

Besides the demographic characteristic of Michigan’s workforce presented in the preceding analysis, and which provides a glimpse of the differences in employment, unemployment, and labor force participation across groups such as gender, race/ethnicity, age, and others, there are other population groups that the Act identifies as facing particularly challenging employment barriers.

INDIVIDUALS WITH A DISABILITY

Disability is one of the several factors that can lead to poverty and other forms of economic distress. Disability increases with age. Disability conditions included in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Surveys are: hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty.

The labor market status of persons with a disability has improved in Michigan over the past two years (2014-2016), as the economy of the state continues to recover. The labor force participation rate advanced by two percentage points to 24.7 percent. The unemployment rate reduced by almost four percentage points, from 16.4 percent in 2014 to 12.6 percent in 2016. And the ratio of the employed over the total number of people eligible for work (16 years of age and above) substantially increased by 2.6 percentage points to 21.6 percent. It is important to note that the labor status of persons without a disability also displays the same trend over the 2014-2016 period (Figure 8-1).

Between 2014 and 2016, the educational attainment of persons with a disability in Michigan has remained below that of persons without a disability. The two groups have experienced only marginal changes in educational attainment over the last two years. For both groups, the percentages of individuals with a high school diploma or a GED, or less slightly declined between 2014 and 2016. The distribution of individuals who held some college, but no degree and an Associate’s degree rose moderately for persons with a disability while remaining flat for those without a disability. However, the share of individuals with a Bachelor’s degree rose for persons without a disability (from 18.7 percent in 2014 to 19.5 percent in 2016), while this share slightly declined for persons with a disability (11.8 percent in 2014 vs. 11.1 percent in 2016). (Figure 8-2)

AMERICAN INDIAN, ALASKA NATIVE, NATIVE HAWAIIN AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS

Because of the small sizes these two population groups display in Michigan, only five-year estimates are available for analysis. The estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate a decline of unemployment during the period following the 2009 Great Recession. However, this decline is mostly due to more people leaving the workforce. In fact, both the labor force participation and the employment to population rates also fell after the recession and for both groups (Figure 8-3).

INDIVIDUALS LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

According to data from the U. S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (1-year estimates, 2014 and 2016), in 2014, 17 percent of Michigan’s population lived in poverty (a little above the nation’s poverty rate of close to 16 percent in the same year). Today in 2016, the rate of individuals living under the poverty line in Michigan has declined by about a full percentage point to 16 percent.

The poverty level among those individuals eligible to work (16 years of age or more) has also displayed a similar decline in Michigan, from 11.3 percent in 2014 (or close to 900,000 individuals) to 10.4 percent in 2016 (or 831,000 people).

The labor market indicators of individuals living below the poverty line display similar patterns in Michigan and nationwide. In 2014, 51.9 percent of working-age individuals living in poverty in Michigan (51.5 percent nationwide) participated in the labor force. About 37.0 percent of these individuals had a job, resulting in an unemployment rate of 28.7 percent. Today in 2016, many individuals have graduated from poverty as seen earlier (about 70,000). The labor participation rate of those still in poverty has reduced by about three percentage points to 48.5 percent (48.8 percent nationwide). However, the employment ratio inched up by one tenth of a percent to 37.1 percent, and the unemployment rate declined by more than five percent points to 23.5 percent.

OLDER INDIVIDUALS

WIOA defines “older individuals” as persons within the age bracket of 55 years and over. The U. S. Census Bureau estimated that in 2016, a little over 3.0 million “older individuals” lived in Michigan (in households and group quarters), up 200,000 from the 2014 level. About 1,395,000 were between the age of 55 and 64; 940,000 between the age of 65 and 74; and 669,000 in the 75 years and over age bracket.

An aging population and the 2009 Great Recession resulted in workers staying longer in the labor force. The trend continues today in 2016, with the labor market status of all groups of older workers showing the same pattern.

The labor force participation rate of persons between the ages of 55 and 64 in Michigan continued to rise, reaching 60.7 percent in 2016, from 58.6 percent in 2014. The proportion of employed individuals in this age group also rose by about three percentage points, from 55.7 percent in 2014 to 58.5 percent in 2016. The unemployment rate for this group inched down by six tenths of a percent to 3.7 percent over the two-year period.

About 21.4 percent of the 65-74 years old individuals still participated in the labor force in 2016 (up seven tenths of a percent since 2014), with an unemployment rate of 3.3 percent (down a full percentage point since 2014). Also, about 5.4 percent of 669,000 individuals who were 75 years old and over in Michigan in 2016 continued to stay active in the labor force, with a 2.8 percent unemployment rate. In 2014, the labor force participation rate of this age group was 5.1 percent (out of 658,000 individuals).

INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH In the section of this analysis concerning population, we noted that the main factor behind the recent population growth in Michigan was international migration. With more people coming to Michigan from foreign countries, we expect the number of individuals who speak English less than very well to also increase. Between 2013 and 2016, that number rose by a little over 36,000 (or +12.3 percent) to a total of about 331,000. In 2016, over half of these individuals who were in the working age of 16 years and over (about 138,000) did not participate in the labor force, representing a labor force participation rate of 54.5 percent (up two percentage points since 2013). Just as for the general population, the unemployment rate of this group also has shown a significant drop of 3.6 percentage points over the 2013-2016 period (Figure 8-4).

LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines long-term unemployed individuals as those who are unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

In 2017, the state of Michigan counted around 227,200 unemployed individuals (i.e., actively looking for a job and available to take up one if offered). Of these individuals, 45,100 (or 19.9 percent) had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more. That represents a drop of 12 percent (or -6,300) from the previous year or -62 percent (-74,100) from 2014. Also in 2017, the share of long-term unemployed individuals in Michigan fell below the proportion of this group nationwide, estimated at 22.9 percent in December.

The share of long-term unemployed in the total number of unemployed peaked in 2010, a year after the Great Recession, when almost half of all unemployed individuals had been so for 27 weeks or more. The 2017 share of long-term unemployed is comparable to the 2006 pre-Great Recessionary levels but still almost seven times higher than the 2000 ratio of only 3.5 percent of the total number of unemployed.