Counties with the highest unemployment in Michigan
While today's unemployment rates are significantly lower than the COVID-19 pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, the fear of job losses remains as workers stare down an uncertain economic future.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Michigan using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in February 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Experts are mixed in their views of a potential recession. The return of student loan payments, continually high gas prices, persistent inflation, and insurance price escalations are just a few of the factors that could limit consumer spending and potentially prompt another recession.
The last economic recession before the pandemic—the Great Recession of 2007-09—sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years.
But as of March 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 3.8%—down slightly from the previous month. Regional and state employment varies widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2% in North Dakota to 5.3% in California.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Michigan.
#50. Isabella County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 32,116 people (1,527 unemployed)
#49. Wayne County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 813,636 people (38,918 unemployed)
#48. Marquette County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,648 people (1,660 unemployed)
#47. Gogebic County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,986 people (307 unemployed)
#46. Alpena County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,434 people (736 unemployed)
#45. Huron County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,139 people (772 unemployed)
#44. Shiawassee County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,853 people (1,723 unemployed)
#43. Genesee County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 183,990 people (9,668 unemployed)
#42. Osceola County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,463 people (668 unemployed)
#41. Bay County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 50,218 people (2,735 unemployed)
#40. Otsego County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,562 people (640 unemployed)
#39. Van Buren County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 35,531 people (1,963 unemployed)
#38. Lapeer County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 41,905 people (2,321 unemployed)
#37. Saginaw County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 84,351 people (4,609 unemployed)
#36. Keweenaw County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 989 people (55 unemployed)
#35. Mecosta County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,457 people (1,105 unemployed)
#34. Tuscola County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,159 people (1,389 unemployed)
#33. Wexford County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,029 people (865 unemployed)
#32. Charlevoix County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,632 people (751 unemployed)
#31. Sanilac County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,447 people (1,152 unemployed)
#30. Missaukee County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,974 people (423 unemployed)
#29. Benzie County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,874 people (541 unemployed)
#28. Mason County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,873 people (803 unemployed)
#27. Delta County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,692 people (1,043 unemployed)
#26. Antrim County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,120 people (659 unemployed)
#25. Kalkaska County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,967 people (525 unemployed)
#24. Gladwin County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,398 people (697 unemployed)
#23. Luce County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,234 people (156 unemployed)
#22. Crawford County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,678 people (400 unemployed)
#21. Iron County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,829 people (341 unemployed)
#20. Baraga County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,242 people (235 unemployed)
#19. Ontonagon County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,090 people (152 unemployed)
#18. Manistee County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,561 people (708 unemployed)
#17. Emmet County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,021 people (1,204 unemployed)
#16. Clare County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,838 people (901 unemployed)
#15. Chippewa County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,626 people (1,265 unemployed)
#14. Lake County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,008 people (309 unemployed)
#13. Iosco County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,374 people (795 unemployed)
#12. Oceana County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,366 people (887 unemployed)
#11. Ogemaw County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,242 people (707 unemployed)
#10. Alcona County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,582 people (315 unemployed)
#9. Arenac County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 2.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,052 people (541 unemployed)
#8. Roscommon County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 2.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,741 people (788 unemployed)
#7. Oscoda County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,767 people (263 unemployed)
#6. Alger County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,323 people (321 unemployed)
#5. Montmorency County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,122 people (311 unemployed)
#4. Schoolcraft County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,353 people (344 unemployed)
#3. Presque Isle County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 2.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,958 people (540 unemployed)
#2. Cheboygan County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 14.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 2.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,945 people (1,407 unemployed)
#1. Mackinac County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 18.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 3.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,882 people (925 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
