Michigan Jobless Rate Leaps to 14.1%

Michigan’s jobless rate hit 14.1 percent in May, a near-26 year high, according to data released today by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth .

The U.S. unemployment rate rose by half a percentage point in May, to 9.4 percent.

“Major events continued to unfold in Michigan’s auto industry in May, which had a considerable impact on the state’s unemployment rate,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the state’s Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Curtailed production negatively influenced suppliers and other related sectors, resulting in further weakening in the labor market.”

It’s the highest monthly rate recorded in the state since July 1983. Since May 2008, unemployment has jumped by 274,000 people, or 67.2 percent. Unemployment nationally rose by a slightly larger 70.0 percent in the same period.

“It’s not good,” said Gov. Jennifer Granholm, at a Lansing press conference Wednesday