Michigan's December jobless rate tops 10 percent

1/21/2009

LANSING, Mich. Michigan's unemployment rate has topped 10 percent for the first time since the mid-1980s.

The state announced Wednesday that its seasonally adjusted jobless rate for December soared to 10.6 percent. That's up from 9.6 percent in November and the highest monthly rate recorded in the state since December 1984. That's according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Michigan has had the nation's highest jobless rate for much of the past three years. The national unemployment rate for December was 7.2 percent.

Michigan's double-digit jobless rate was expected as the state's already struggling economy worsens because of the national recession. But the one-month leap in the rate was unusually large.