St. Joseph County April 2022
The Trend: St. Joseph County gained 275 jobs from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021. From December to January, the labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio fell, while the unemployment rate increased. This is likely a sign that unemployed individuals are still looking for work or leaving the labor force entirely. Job postings were higher in January than in December, with retail sales associate as the most in-demand job.
Kalamazoo County April 2022
The Trend: Kalamazoo County added 1497 jobs from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021. Between December and January, the unemployment rate increased and the labor force participation rate and employment-to-population ratio decreased. This is likely a sign that unemployed individuals are still looking for work or leaving the labor force. Job postings were higher in January than in December, with retail sales associate as the most in-demand job.
Calhoun County April 2022
The Trend: Calhoun County employment increased from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021 by 322 jobs. Between December and January, the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate both increased while the employment-to-population rate decreased. This is likely a sign that unemployed individuals are still looking for work. Job postings were
higher in January than in December, with registered nurse as the most
in-demand job.
Branch County April 2022
The Trend: Branch County employment grew, experiencing an increase of 217 jobs from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021. Between December and January, the unemployment rate increased and the labor force participation rate and employment-to-population ratio decreased. This is likely a sign that unemployed individuals are still looking for work or leaving the labor force. Job postings were lower in January than in December, with phlebotomist as the most in-demand position.
NHQI April 2022
Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index for April 2022 holds steady overall, but foreign-born workers edge up even as their hiring volume moderates
St. Joseph County May 2022
The Trend: St. Joseph County gained 275 jobs from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021. From January to February, the labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio increased, while the unemployment rate held steady. This is likely a sign that unemployed individuals are reentering the labor force. Job postings were lower in February than in January, with retail sales associate as the most in-demand job.
Kalamazoo County May 2022
The Trend: Kalamazoo County added 1,497 jobs from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021. Between January and February, the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-to-population ratio all increased. This is likely a sign that unemployed individuals are reentering the labor force and looking for work. Job postings were lower in February than in January, with registered nurse as the most in-demand job.
Richard B. Freeman
Richard B. Freeman holds the Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University. He is currently serving as Faculty Co-Director of the Labor and Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School. Professor Freeman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He does most of his research at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Freeman's research interests the role of contracts and labor law to protect informal workers and improve labor standards along the supply chain; the job market for scientists and engineers; the transformation of scientific ideas into innovations, Chinese and Korean labor markets; the effects of AI and robots on the job market; and forms of labor market representation and employee ownership. He coedited Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the 21st Century, with Joni Hersch and Lawrence Mishel and wrote Can International Labor Standards Improve under Globalization? (with Kimberly Elliot).
He received the Mincer Lifetime Achievement Prize from the Society of Labor Economics in 2006. In 2007 he was awarded the IZA Prize in Labor Economics. In 2016, he was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association.
St. Joseph County December 2021
Kalamazoo Coounty December 2021
Calhoun County December 2021
Branch County December 2021
NQHI March 2022
Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index for March 2022 edges up a hair, and hiring volume for high school graduates remains high
Looking into 2020: Don't Shoot the Messenger
Peering into Economic Conditions: A Look at the Nation, the State, and the Battle Creek Region
Looking into 2020: What We Are Watching
Albion 2020 Economic Forecast
2020 Economic Outlook
NHQI May 2021
Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index for May 2021 holds steady, but public sector hiring—including education—is not keeping up
Emilie Jackson
Emilie Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Michigan State University. Her research is in the fields of public and labor economics and her recent work uses U.S. tax data to explore the implications of the recent growth in gig employment opportunities (e.g. Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, etc.) for individuals facing unemployment shocks. She quantifies the take-up of gig work during unemployment and evaluates the ability to smooth income in the short run. Furthermore, she evaluates the long-run implications for workers’ labor supply, skill acquisition, and earnings trajectories.