The good news is the city’s unemployment rate fell, down to 3.8 percent from last year’s 4.2 percent, Axios Detroit reported.
To translate the percentage to people: it means, using the 2021 data about Detroit’s population, 24,034 people currently don’t have jobs.
At the height of the pandemic, the city’s unemployment rate was 38 percent, or 240,336 people. The percentage dropped below 7 percent back in November. That was the first time in 22 years, Axios Detroit said.
The less-good news is the city’s rate still above the national average—but only slightly. The national jobless rate is 3.5 percent, or 11,616,500 people.
Though the rate fell, it still causes concern because “unemployment is a key metric for gauging the economy’s overall temperature,” said Axios Detroit.
“Looking at only the national unemployment rate can hide significant disparities between cities that are thriving and those that are struggling.”
Some of those cities with larger jobless rates are Las Vegas (5.7%), Chicago (4.4%), Los Angeles (4.3%) and Houston (4.3%). Cities with lower rates include Miami (2.2%), Minneapolis (2.4%) and Tampa (2.5%).
Financial experts are predicting that Detroit will be affected by an expected mild recession this summer. That could mean the jobless rate will rise to four to six percent.
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