Some worker shortages hurt more than others, and state leaders are rushing to try to make it easier to fill vacancies from paramedics to special ed teachers.
Ron French
Ron French is the senior enterprise reporter at Bridge Michigan, covering a wide range of topics including rural communities, federal policy impacts, education and public health. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter, and previously reported for newspapers across Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University.
Rooted in Okemos, Ron has become a true Michigander — complete with a family cabin Up North.
Posted inMichigan Government
Indiana is beating Michigan by attracting people, not just companies
Indiana leads the Midwest in population growth. Michigan lags. What can we learn from the Hoosier state? That building cities and towns where young people want to live and raise families can bring the economy along with them.
Posted inTalent & Education
West Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books wins tax support on 3rd try
The Patmos Library in Ottawa County was ground zero for a culture war over LGBTQ-themed books. After losing funding votes twice, voters approved support Tuesday to keep it open
Posted inBusiness Watch
Wine apprenticeships? Michigan’s worker shortage makes businesses get creative
Tired of not finding trained workers, some Michigan businesses are using state funding to grow their own with apprenticeships.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Can remote workers jump-start Michigan population? Yes, but roads go both ways
Young college-educated workers can live wherever they want. That gives lots of hope to Michigan, but it also is another reason to lose our best and brightest.
Posted inMichigan Government
After LGBTQ library fight, a Michigan town tries something new: compromise
Patmos Library, defunded last year in a battle over LGBTQ-themed graphic novels, will try for a third time to win taxpayer support in November. It if loses again, the library will be ‘crippled.’
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan personal income plummets to lowest in history compared to nation
Michigan now ranks 39th in per capita income, a reflection of the state’s slow transition away from its blue-collar roots.
Posted inTalent & Education
Lack of school counselors hobbles Michigan college enrollment efforts
Michigan is pulling out the stops to get more people in college. But a shortage of high school counselors and advisors trained to explain the application, financial aid and college-going process poses a challenge.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Survey: 1 in 4 young adults expect to leave Michigan within 10 years
In a state struggling with population and worker shortages, a quarter of young Michigan adults expect to live somewhere else within 10 years. College grads and Black respondents said they were more likely to leave.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan has more job openings than workers. Are retirees the answer?
In Roscommon County, fewer than 4 in 10 adults are in the workforce. The northern Michigan vacation haven is symptomatic of a statewide worker shortage crisis that has some looking for creative solutions.