St. Joseph County August 2022
The Trend: St. Joseph County lost 138 jobs from Q3 2021 to Q4 2021. Between April and May, the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-to-population ratio all increased. This is likely a sign that some individuals are reentering the labor force and finding work, while others are still looking. Job postings were lower in May than in April because of a methodology change in Labor Insight from Burning Glass Technologies, a database of job-posting information. Registered nurse was the most in- demand position.
Branch County August 2022
The Trend: Branch County employment grew from Q3 2021 to Q4 2021, experiencing an increase of 151 jobs. Between April and May, the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-to- population ratio all increased. This is likely a sign that some individuals are reentering the labor force and finding work, while others are still looking. Job postings were lower in May than in April because of a methodology change in posting data collection by Labor Insight from Burning Glass Technologies, a database of job-posting information. Tractor-trailer truck driver was the most in-demand position.
2020 Economic Outlook? Thoughts and Observations
NHQI April 2019
Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index for April 2019 up 0.7 percent from last year, even faster growth for government sector
NHQI February 2024
Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index gains for second month but hiring volume drops 1.0 percent; only hires with graduate degrees spared
NHQI October 2021
Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index for October 2021 continues to hold steady for wages but volume dips; Blacks continue to close gap with Whites
St. Joseph County August 2021
The Trend: St. Joseph County lost more than 150 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between April 2021 and May 2021, the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate both increased, while the employment-to-population ratio decreased. This is likely a sign that employment in the area is declining, but individuals are staying in the labor market and looking for other job opportunities. Job postings were higher in May than in April, with slightly more postings in manufacturing and accommodation and food services.
Kalamazoo County August 2021
The Trend: Kalamazoo County continues to rebound, gaining more than 2,000 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between April 2021 and May 2021, the unemployment rate, employment-to-population ratio, and labor force participation rate increased. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market, but not necessarily finding jobs right away. Job postings were higher in May than in April, with more postings in health care and social assistance, as well as accommodation and food services.
Calhoun County August 2021
The Trend: Calhoun County continues to show small growth, gaining more than 100 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between April 2021 and May 2021, the unemployment rate, employment-to-population ratio, and labor force participation rate increased. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market but not necessarily finding jobs right away. Job postings were higher in May than in April, with more postings in manufacturing and retail trade.
Branch County August 2021
The Trend: Branch County continues to show some small growth, with an increase of more than 50 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between April 2021 and May 2021, the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-to-population ratio increased. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market but not necessarily finding jobs right away. Job postings were lower in May than in April, with
fewer postings in retail trade and manufacturing.
Michigan Works! Southwest Region August 2021
The Trend: The Michigan Works! Southwest Region continues to recover, gaining more than 2,000 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between April 2021 and May 2021, the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate increased, while the employment-to-population ratio stayed the same. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market but not necessarily finding jobs right away. Job postings were higher in May than in April, with more postings in manufacturing.
St. Joseph County September 2021
St. Joseph County lost more than 150 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between May 2021 and June 2021, the unemployment rate fell, while the labor force participation rate and employment-to-population ratio increased. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market and finding work swiftly. Job postings were lower in June than in May, with manufacturing machine operator as the most in-demand job.
Kalamazoo County September 2021
Kalamazoo County continues to rebound, gaining more than 2,000 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between May 2021 and June 2021, the unemployment rate, employment-to-population ratio, and labor force participation rate all increased. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market but not necessarily finding jobs right away. Job postings were higher in June than in May, with registered nurse as the most in-demand job.
Calhoun County September 2021
Calhoun County continues to show small growth, gaining more than 100 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between May 2021 and June 2021, the unemployment rate, employment-to-population ratio, and labor force participation rate were all unchanged. This is likely a sign that individuals are not reentering the labor market. Job postings were lower in June than in May, with truck driver as the most in-demand job.
Branch County September 2021
Branch County continues to show some small growth, with an increase of more than 50 jobs from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020. Between May 2021 and June 2021, the unemployment rate held steady, while the labor force participation rate and employment-to-population ratio increased. This is likely a sign that individuals are reentering the labor market but not necessarily finding jobs right away. Job postings were higher in June than in May, with truck driver as the most in-demand job.
Andy Garin
Andy Garin is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
His research lies at the intersection of labor economics and public economics. He studies how the structure of labor markets determines who bears the benefit or burden of changes in policy or economic structure. He is particularly interested in the ways that gig workers are shaping the employment landscape, and how policy might best adapt to promote opportunity in 21st century labor markets.
He completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 2018. His dissertation, “Essays on the Economics of Labor Demand and Policy Incidence” was awarded the first-place prize for the W.E. Upjohn Institute's 2018 Dissertation Award, which recognizes “the best PhD dissertation on employment-related issues.”
Erica Groshen
Erica Groshen is Senior Labor Economics Advisor at Cornell University--ILR, Research Fellow at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and serves as a member of the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Council and the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. From 2013 to 2017, she served as 14th Commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prior to that she served as Vice President in the Research and Statistics Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Her research centers on employers’ roles in labor market outcomes and the future of work. Dr. Groshen received the 2017 Susan C. Eaton Outstanding Scholar-Practitioner Award from the Labor and Employment Relations Association and was appointed a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 2020.
Beth Gutelius
Beth Gutelius is the Research Director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Senior Researcher at the Great Cities Institute. Her academic and consulting career has focused on urban economic development, labor markets, and the changing nature of employment. Beth has studied the logistics sector for more than a decade and is a leading expert on employment in the warehousing industry. In 2019 she co-authored the report, The Future of Warehouse Work: Technological Change in the U.S. Logistics Industry, with Dr. Nik Theodore. Her current research projects include a study of third-party outsourcing in logistics funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Gutelius received her Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Policy from The University of Illinois at Chicago.
Susan Helper
Susan Helper is the Carlton Professor of Economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She was formerly chief economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce and a member of the White House staff. She has served as chair of the economics department and has been a visiting scholar at University of Oxford, the University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a Research Associate at NBER and Co-Director of CIFAR’s Project on Innovation, Equity, and the Future of Prosperity.
Her research focuses on supply chain globalization, technology implementation that enhances job quality, and creation of supply chains for a low-carbon economy (see "Green Supply Chains Can Strengthen the Middle Class").
Her reports, Next Generation Supply Chains, “Supply Chains and Equitable Growth,” and “Value first, cost later: Total value contribution as a new approach to sourcing decisions,” focus on the globalization of supply chains and ways that U.S. manufacturing might be revitalized.
Dr. Helper received her PhD in Economics from Harvard and her BA from Oberlin College in Economics, Government, and Spanish.
John Horton
John Horton is the Richard S. Leghorn (1939) Career Development Professor and an Associate Professor of Information Technologies at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Horton's research focuses on the intersection of labor economics, market design, and information systems. He is particularly interested in improving the efficiency and equity of matching markets. His recent study on ride-sharing markets has been cited in articles by the Wall Street Journal and Quartz. He is co-author of “Digitization and the Contract Labor Market,” in Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy (Avi Goldfarb, Shane M. Greenstein, and Catherine E. Tucker, eds).
After completing his PhD and prior to joining NYU Stern School of Business in 2013, he served for two years as the staff economist for oDesk, an online labor market.
Horton received a BS in mathematics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a PhD in public policy from Harvard University.