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 […]
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: 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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Climbing pole to $100,000 per year
When Michigan legislators seek guidance for the state’s economic woes, they may want to look up … they may just catch a glimpse of the future of workforce development. His name is Dan Kilgore, a 31-year-old from Battle Creek. Working today as an electric line technician, Kilgore got his job by participating in a partnership between […]
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Certificates can buy middle-class lifestyle
While the path to the Michigan middle class will wind almost exclusively through college campuses, the journey will have some shortcuts, according to an analysis of job projections by Bridge Magazine. Some careers projected to have high demand require only a vocational certification — usually taking less than two years of schooling — and offer salaries comparable […]
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Jobs of the future: Where they'll be in Michigan
Jim Danielski tells horror stories, but not the kind shared with toasted marshmallows around a campfire. Danielski’s horror stories are the kind that should keep Gov. Rick Snyder awake at night. At his career counseling center in Plymouth, Danielski sees a steady stream of people who aren’t ready for Michigan’s new economy. Some have no […]
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Five fields that will still pay well
Michiganians looking to increase their odds of landing a full-time job with above-average pay should head directly to a hospital. Can’t stand the sight of blood? Maybe you would prefer being a financial analyst. Not good with numbers? Think about oil and gas. The job outlook in Michigan is projected to remain tight through 2018, […]
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Job prospects take on oily sheen
The list of the fastest growing jobs in Michigan is dominated by one unlikely industry – petroleum. Five of the six fastest-growing occupations are connected to petroleum and natural resource extraction through 2018, according to Bridge Magazine job projections based on federal data. The projections assume the same kind of explosive growth in hydraulic fracturing […]