Michigan’s Mixed Messages About Job Prospects

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Tracking job opportunities in Michigan over the last few months has been like watching a tennis match between two kids. The ball’s been all over the place, and there hasn’t been one rally — but everyone still wants to be optimistic.

Back in September the Detroit News gave those looking for jobs some good news. Under the headline “Michigan Gets Jobs Boost,” they reported that companies representing the automotive and technology industry in Michigan would soon put 2,000 or more Michiganders to work.

The two companies responsible for most of the prospective jobs are General Motors’ Hummer division and an information tech services firm from California called Systems in Motion. Both companies chose to relocate in Michigan because the state offered them millions in tax breaks.

Jobs in the film industry have been booming (months ago, 3,000 direct jobs had already been created). And Governor Granholm just announced last week that that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is working on 12 projects that “are expected to create 2,245 new jobs (883 direct and 1,368 indirect), retain 11,254 jobs, and generate over $791 million in new investment in the state.”

But there was also some bleaker news last week. University of Michigan economomists forcast no employment growth until 2011. Yeah, that’s ZERO, NILL, NADA job growth for more than a year.

It’s not surprising then, that Generation Y seems to be a bit confused. Some young people tell me it isn’t actually that hard to find jobs in Michigan. Others say they have no faith in the Michigan job market and are planning their escape as soon as they graduate.

We can at least be certain that next year will be better than 2009, simply because 2009 was so bad. George Fulton, who wrote the survey that predicts no job growth until 2011, said 2009 “was one of the worst years in modern history, and it could have been the worst in terms of the number of jobs.”

Similar Posts:

• Michigan Radio Asks for ‘Three Things’ (January 5, 2010)
• Grand Rapids’ ‘Mich-i-can-do Attitude’ (December 11, 2009)
• Networking on the East Side of Mid-Michigan (December 1, 2009)
• The Recession Is Over — Let The Brain Drain Resume (November 11, 2009)
• Detroit’s Staggering Number of Unemployed Per Job Posting (December 9, 2009)

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