Unemployment rates for Michigan’s northern regions increased in the month of January, compared to December 2021, likely due to a drop in seasonal employment. These seasonal jobs are expected to return in summer.

Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates increased in all 17 Michigan Labor market areas in the month of January, according to data released last week by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

“Michigan regional labor markets exhibited typical seasonal increases in unemployment rates in January,” said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, in a press release. “January nonfarm job totals also fell seasonally in all Michigan metro areas.”

Throughout the year, all 83 Michigan counties reported decreases in unemployment, likely due to COVID-19 restrictions continuing to ease, however, rates are still above pre-pandemic levels.

Between January 2021 to January 2022, the industry that had the largest increase in Michigan was hospitality, with full-service restaurants increasing by 110% throughout the year, according to Shibani Putatunda, economic specialist with the Michigan DTMB.

Industries that experienced a decrease in jobs are trade, transportation and utilities and government.

“So transportation and utilities, two big sub-sectors of that include retail trade and transportation warehousing,” Putatunda said. “The large decrease that you see in trade, transportation and utilities is primarily due to declines in retail trade and transportation warehousing because at the end of the shopping season, people are hiring less because they needed extra help during the hiring season in December. One reason for the decrease in government is, at least partially due to layoffs at schools due to holiday break during the beginning of January.”

The Northwest Lower Michigan labor market area — covering Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee and Wexford counties — showed an unemployment rate of 6% for January, an increase from 4.8% in December 2021 and a decrease from 8.5% the previous January.

For the Northeast Lower Michigan labor market area — covering Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle and Roscommon counties — the January unemployment rate was 8.8%, an increase from 6.6% in December and a decrease from 10.6% the previous year.

The 15-county Upper Peninsula labor market area showed an unemployment rate of 6.3% in January, an increase from 5% the previous month and a decrease from 7.9% in January 2021.

Not seasonally adjusted payroll jobs in Michigan fell by 66,000, or 1.5%, over the month. This was similar to the seasonal decline recorded in January 2021, but less than the January job drop in prior years. Employment declines occurred in most major statewide industries, but trade, transportation and utilities (-19,000) and government (-17,000) saw the biggest declines, likely due to seasonal factors like holiday hiring; these jobs are expected to return in summer.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Northern Michigan's January jobless rates up from previous month