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Michigan jobless rate inches upward to 10.5%

Michigan’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 10.5 percent in June, up two-tenths of a percentage point from May, state officials said this afternoon.

The state’s jobless rate remains well above the national average, which was 9.2 percent in June, but it is better than Michigan’s 12.6 percent unemployment rate in June 2010, according to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

From May to June this year, employment across the state dropped by 26,000, while the number of unemployed people rose by 8,000, the state said.

“Halfway through 2011, Michigan’s labor market has shown no significant changes since the beginning of the year,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, in a statement. “Since January, statewide payroll jobs were little changed and the jobless rate edged down by two-tenths of a percentage point.”

Tags: Jobless Rate, Rate