High school seniors are expected to ask their guidance counselors where they can find work in Michigan. Their guidance counselors, though, may be asking the same question. At a time when Michigan teens are struggling to find their footing in a changing economy, schools are thinning the ranks of guidance counselors. State schools averaged one […]
Business Watch
Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus. Our Michigan Economic Dashboard shows key metrics that show how the state is performing.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Analysis: 'Economic Life' missed nonprofits' impact
Editor’s note: As part of our ongoing “Economic Life” coverage, we asked two observers to give their analysis of Bridge’s in-depth look into the state’s economic performance and job prospects. We’ve all seen the lists that show the growing and shrinking sectors of Michigan’s economy. Policy-makers use these inventories to help them chart the direction […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Analysis: Five strategies to help Michiganians find work
Editor’s note: As part of our ongoing “Economic Life” coverage, we asked two observers to give their analysis of Bridge’s in-depth look into the state’s economic performance and job prospects. Bridge’s series about jobs, skills and educational attainment frames a crucial agenda for all of us in Michigan. We face a daunting, multi-dimensional policy challenge: […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan Web firm rides torrent of growth
Liquid Web is one of mid-Michigan’s biggest success stories. Launched in 1997, the managed Web-hosting company serves more than 20,000 clients in 120 countries. In 2009, it opened a 90,000-square-foot data center in Delta Township just west of Lansing. Liquid Web has expanded from 19 employees in 2005 to about 150 in 2009 to nearly […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
MEDC plunks $5 million on Manistique mill
Is this really “economic gardening”? Manistique Papers Inc., an Upper Peninsula paper mill operation, has been saved from liquidation by Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced Wednesday that it had approved a loan of up to $5 million through the MEDC’s Michigan Business Growth Fund/Loan Participation Program for the troubled company. […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Herman Miller's Brian Walker talks LEED, green tech
Herman Miller is known as an innovative design and manufacturing firm of office furniture and equipment and furniture for the home. With 6,500 employees worldwide, this Zeeland company also has earned admiration for sustainability. Rachel Hood, executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council in Grand Rapids, applauds the way both Herman Miller and competitor […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Analysis: African Americans hit hardest on homeownership
Editor’s note: Bridge presents, from time to time, comments from Kurt Metzger of Data Driven Detroit on what the 2010 census results mean for Michigan today, and tomorrow. Metzger worked for the U.S. Census Bureau for 15 years and has been studying demographic data and issues in Michigan for three decades. Homeownership was humming nationally […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
All Michigan regions grew in 2010
Michigan’s regional economies surged ahead in 2010, propelled by a surprisingly robust manufacturing sector and solid growth from the “information economy.” The latest figures are a positive pivot from a decade that saw most Michigan regions lag economically. Between 2001 and 2009, 11 of 14 Michigan metropolitan areas recorded declines in real gross domestic product […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan can't fit college grads into job slots
If Amy Dobson is a rock and Gentex is a hard place, Gov. Rick Snyder is stuck between them. Dobson, an effervescent 23-year-old from Okemos, finished a five-year degree program in education from Michigan State University last spring. Despite holding a bachelor’s degree from a top-ranked education school, Dobson couldn’t find a job in her home […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Other states have tried to buy college results
Tying higher education funding to graduation rates, or even to certain types of degrees, may sound radical to Michigan policy-makers, but it’s been discussed and tried for years in other places. Here are some examples: Indiana: In 2007, our southern neighbor tied a portion of its higher education funding to degree completion, on-time graduation and […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.