Work continues in Washington and Lansing on plans to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on workers and businesses. At the same time, the state’s new jobs numbers show a spike in unemployment for the first time since April.
The state’s Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiative says the reason is a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went to six-point-nine percent. That’s an increase of eight-tenths of a percentage point from the October number released last month.
Charles Ballard is a Michigan State University professor whose specialty is the state’s economy. He says COVID-related shutdowns account for part of the job losses, but so does a lack of confidence that it’s safe to go to work, shop, and dine out.
“More and more people are going to get the vaccine, and ultimately conquering the virus is the only thing that’s going to get the economy back to anything close to normal,” said Ballard.
Ballard says a new round of stimulus checks could help keep the economy afloat until that happens.