New weekly unemployment claims in Michigan rose by nearly 130% for the week ending May 3 compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said on May 8.
New claims, a proxy for layoffs, rose to 12,287 in the week ending May 3, up from 5,381 the week prior, the labor department said.
It wasn’t immediately clear why new jobless claims rose at such a steep rate compared with the week prior. New claims for unemployment insurance have been hovering around 6,000 for the last few months at slightly elevated levels compared with similar periods in the last two years.
There were 228,000 seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. for the week ending May 3, a decrease of 13,000 claims compared with the week prior.
Michigan’s unemployment rate has exceeded the national average in recent months. The state’s jobless rate rose for the third consecutive month in March, increasing to 5.5%, up from 4.2% the same month a year ago, according to the most recent data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
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The manufacturing and professional and business services sectors were the industries that saw the steepest job losses in March, the department said. Manufacturing declined by 5,000 jobs in March compared with the month prior, while the professional and business services sector lost 4,000 jobs in that time.
Several companies with employees in Michigan have filed WARN Act notices with the state in recent months, a notice that employers must give to employees and local government officials before they execute a mass layoff or close an employment site and a sign that new claims for unemployment insurance could increase as workers lose their jobs.
For example, Akasol, an electric vehicle battery maker, ended production in Michigan in April and laid off 188 workers in Warren and Hazel Park. Flagstar Bank said in February that it would lay off about 400 employees because plans to transfer them to another company were canceled.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan sees a sudden rise in unemployment claims