The local economy of Michigan and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
5.0%
August 2026, 4.9% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,445
Q1 2026, 4,357,481 jobs
New homes permitted
22,528
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-9,417
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Michigan, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Michigan is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Michigan was 5.0% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.9% a year earlier. 4,612,004 people were employed out of a labor force of 4,852,504. Among its counties, Grand Traverse County had the lowest rate (3.5%) and Oscoda County the highest (8.6%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Michigan was $1,445 in Q1 2026, up 3.9% from a year earlier, across 4,357,481 jobs at 312,614 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,836 new homes in Michigan in August 2026 (1,429 single-family and 331 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 14,427, down 7.0% from the same months last year, and 22,528 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Wayne County (2,999), Kent County (2,400), Oakland County (2,193) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 121,795 people moved to Michigan and 131,212 moved away, a net loss of 9,417 (-1.2 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and most people who left went to Florida, Texas, Ohio.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Michigan. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.