Although carmakers are still in hot pursuit of the youth market, data suggests these potential customers don’t really care what’s about to be unveiled at the Detroit auto show. (Photo by Flickr user LotProCars; used under Creative Commons license) Around 800,000 people are expected to check out the auto industry’s latest models during the nine-day […]
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
Future job growth favors West Michigan
<a href=”#”><img decoding=”async” onerror=”if (typeof newspackHandleImageError === ‘function’) newspackHandleImageError(this);” alt=”Dashboard 1 ” src=”http://public.tableausoftware.com/static/images/Re/RegJobsMap/Dashboard1/1_rss.png” style=”border: none”></a> Michigan’s economic axis is tilting west, which will likely create thousands of good-to-high-paying jobs in the Grand Rapids and Traverse City regions, as well as Ann Arbor, over the next decade. While metro Detroit is expected to add the largest […]
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Plenty of jobs for those with few choices
Many of the fastest-growing jobs in Michigan in the coming decade will be jobs most people won’t want – with pay so low that many workers will qualify for food stamps. A Bridge Magazine analysis of job projections found that four of the six occupational categories adding the most jobs through 2023 pay workers, on […]
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Six things Michigan could do to build better-paying jobs
What’s on our Christmas list? Six things experts say would help turn around Michigan’s dismal jobs forecast. Improve early reading Reading proficiency in early grades has a huge impact on academic success. Invest in intensive intervention as needed in schools, and encourage parents to read to their children. Decrease college dropouts Michigan is above average […]
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Michigan’s Christmas Carol: A scary look at our jobs outlook
Continued shrinking of the state’s famed middle-class factory jobs. Fast-growing occupations that pay so little, workers may qualify for food stamps. Job growth that ranks 49th in the nation. (Illustration by AJ Jones) This is not a holiday story Gov. Rick Snyder wants to read to his children. Continued shrinking of the state’s famed middle-class […]
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Hot job prospects of the future
These Michigan jobs are expected to be most in demand over the next decade at each education level, from high school to graduate school. (click image below to advance through slides.) High School or less Description 2023 Jobs Projected openings over next decade % Change total jobs from 2013 Avg. Hourly Earnings Retail salespersons 139,708 […]
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For career success, higher degree means higher earnings
The charts don’t lie: If you want to have a decent shot at a decent living in Michigan, you must be prepared to sit in a classroom – virtual or otherwise – the rest of your life. Standing still means falling behind – or just plain falling. “All of my kids realize they have to […]
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Community college degrees in demand
To see the difference between yesterday’s skilled-trade career and today’s, Michael Hansen offers what’s happening at BOSS Products, a snowplow manufacturer in Iron Mountain. The president of the Michigan Community College Association describes entering a welding shop, expecting to see “guys in hoods and greasy overalls.” Hardly. The work was done by robots, with the […]
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Michigan needs more college grads to attract good jobs
Lou Glazer is president of Michigan Future Inc., a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to generate new ideas to help Michigan succeed in a knowledge-driven economy. Bridge: Michigan lost a higher percentage of jobs in the recession than other states, and Michigan is projected to gain fewer jobs than 48 states in the next decade. What’s […]
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One year later, Right to Work results uncertain
Thousands of protesters converged on the state capitol in December 2012 to oppose passage of right-to-work legislation. Photo credit: Anne Savage of the Michigan Democratic Party. The predictions were both dire and dramatic. But one year after Gov. Rick Snyder signed right-to-work legislation, it has yet to prove either the body blow to labor or […]