Detroit Free Press A program that provided an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits in Michigan has ended, Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency Monday.The Extended Benefits (EB) program, which is mostly federally funded,   in October  when the state was in a period of high unemployment. EB is triggered when a state's jobless rate averages more than 8% for three consecutive months.But the agency said that Michigan's jobless rate is now below the threshold for EB to remain active.There were 96,000 claimants on the EB program in Michigan as of Feb. 13, the most...…Detroit Free Press A program that provided an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits in Michigan has ended, Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency Monday.The Extended Benefits (EB) program, which is mostly federally funded,   in October  when the state was in a period of high unemployment. EB is triggered when a state's jobless rate averages more than 8% for three consecutive months.But the agency said that Michigan's jobless rate is now below the threshold for EB to remain active.There were 96,000 claimants on the EB program in Michigan as of Feb. 13, the most...WW…

Detroit Free Press Michigan residents continued to file tens of thousands of new jobless claims last week, a troubling sign for the progress of the state's economic recovery.New claims dropped to 24,897 in the week ending July 11,  34,602 the previous week, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Nationally, new unemployment claims decreased slightly to 1.3 million in the week ending July 11, down from 1.31 million the week prior.The number of new unemployment claims in Michigan had been declining consistently since hitting a peak in...…Detroit Free Press Michigan residents continued to file tens of thousands of new jobless claims last week, a troubling sign for the progress of the state's economic recovery.New claims dropped to 24,897 in the week ending July 11,  34,602 the previous week, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Nationally, new unemployment claims decreased slightly to 1.3 million in the week ending July 11, down from 1.31 million the week prior.The number of new unemployment claims in Michigan had been declining consistently since hitting a peak in...WW…

Detroit Free Press Even as much of Michigan's economy is brought back online following a months-long shutdown, job losses continue to mount in the state, new unemployment claims data show, highlighting the deep economic strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.The pace of layoffs continued to ease, with new claims dropping to 41,035 in the week ending May 30, down from 64,574 the previous week.More: More than 1.7 million Michigan residents have filed for unemployment, a sign of the large toll COVID-19 has taken on the state's economy. While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted the...…Detroit Free Press Even as much of Michigan's economy is brought back online following a months-long shutdown, job losses continue to mount in the state, new unemployment claims data show, highlighting the deep economic strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.The pace of layoffs continued to ease, with new claims dropping to 41,035 in the week ending May 30, down from 64,574 the previous week.More: More than 1.7 million Michigan residents have filed for unemployment, a sign of the large toll COVID-19 has taken on the state's economy. While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted the...WW…

Detroit Free Press Unemployment claims dropped in Michigan last week to the lowest level since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a potentially good sign that comes as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer begins to outline plans to re-engage parts of the economy.In a week-to-week comparison of new claims, claims for the state declined to 81,312 in the week ending April 25, down from 134,119 the previous week.Still, this week's claims are higher than during the recession in 2009 — the weekly high was about 77,000 — and experts say unemployment claims could rise again as states work through a...…Detroit Free Press Unemployment claims dropped in Michigan last week to the lowest level since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a potentially good sign that comes as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer begins to outline plans to re-engage parts of the economy.In a week-to-week comparison of new claims, claims for the state declined to 81,312 in the week ending April 25, down from 134,119 the previous week.Still, this week's claims are higher than during the recession in 2009 — the weekly high was about 77,000 — and experts say unemployment claims could rise again as states work through a...WW…