Thursday, October 21, 2004 State loses more jobs
Factory rolls are down 6,000 while tourism sector takes hit, edging jobless rate to 6.8% By Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News <http://www.detnews.com/pix/folios/dot.gif> More online Changes roiling Michigan have had an impact on jobs. Read the Detroit News Special Report: Working in Michigan <http://www.detnews.com/specialreports/2004/working/> Michigan lost another 15,000 jobs in September, pushing the state's unemployment rate up slightly to 6.8 percent - 1.4 percentage points above the national average. Although the state saw gains in government and other sectors, the leisure and hospitality industry hemorrhaged 10,000 jobs and the manufacturing sector lost 6,000, according to figures released Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth. Michigan had the nation's third-highest unemployment rate in August and isn't expected to fare any better in September after all 50 states report jobless figures. The less-than-rosy numbers instantly became political fodder as Democrats asserted that President Bush has mismanaged the economy and Republicans fired back at Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat. "Unemployment and the economy are the No. 1 issues here in Michigan," said Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics newsletter in Lansing. "Bush can't come here and claim everything's fine when we aren't doing as good as the rest of the nation." In the past year, payroll jobs in Michigan have dropped by 53,000, or 1.2 percent, according to the state. While the 16,000 manufacturing jobs lost since September 2003 have garnered much of the attention, more jobs - 17,000 - have been lost in the trade, transportation and utilities sectors. Many of those job losses have come from the retail sector. Last month, some 10,000 workers were laid off at hotels, restaurants and other leisure and hospitality employers as the summer tourism season came to an end. That's about 2,000 more jobs cut in the tourism industry than previous Septembers, said Bruce Weaver, acting director of state's labor and economic growth department. Tourism officials blamed cold, wet weather for the first month-to-month job decline in hotel and restaurant employment since April. Over the past three months, the state's jobless rate has remained between 6.7 percent and 6.8 percent. Michigan's average monthly unemployment rate was 6.6 percent for the first nine months of 2004. "The past year has shown consistent, but slow, job growth in the nation and our state," said Patrick Anderson, principal of the consulting firm Anderson Economic Group in Lansing. Although 13,000 fewer government jobs exist in the state than a year ago, the number of government jobs rose 8,000 from August to September as schools reopened and teachers and school administrators went back to work. The past year has seen a number of high-profile cuts in the retail sector. In September, Frank's Nursery & Crafts Inc. laid off the majority of its 100-person staff at its Troy headquarters as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company eventually will close 169 stores in 14 states, including 33 in Michigan, and lay off 2,800 employees. In August, Kmart Holding Corp. slashed its work force at its headquarters in Troy by 10 percent or about 220 jobs, the latest in a string of cuts by Kmart since 2002, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But several Michigan retail analysts say the state's retail sector remains relatively strong and the upcoming holiday season could be big. "It's a blip," said Ed Nakfoor, a Birmingham-based retail analyst. "It probably shows the gap between the high-end retailers who are always looking for qualified help and the number of people who work in retail who don't view it as a career." That would include those like Wayne State University student Jacqueline Manetta, who for the past two years relied on waitressing jobs in downtown Detroit during the school year to help pay her way through school. But with the Red Wings season in limbo due to the National Hockey League lockout, the 24-year-old has had no luck getting a job this year. "I can't even find a part-time job," said Manetta, who's been looking for work downtown for two months. Fred Marx, retail analyst of Marx Layne & Co. in Farmington Hills, says the job loss in retail is more about consolidation in the retail sector than lack of consumer confidence. "None of my clients say they see more tightfistedness among their customers," Marx said. "The higher gas prices will actually make people shop more locally during the upcoming holiday season than going elsewhere." The 10,000 jobs lost in hospitality and service industries is attributable to "one of the worst summers in recent memory," said Steven Yencich, president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Hotel, Motel & Resort Association. "A lot of hotel occupancy throughout the state was down due to it." You can reach Louis Aguilar at (313) 222-2760 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
