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:: The unemployment rate reached a historic low in Wayne County in 2000 at 3.9 percent. In conjunction with the low unemployment rate, the County’s total labor force reached as all time high at 985,475. The region and nation as a whole also experience the lowest rates in decades, although the change was most pronounced in Wayne County. Since then, the unemployment rate has shifted up to 5.8 percent in 2001 and as of March 2002 it has reached 6.7 percent. Currently, the County’s total labor force is 964,575. :: With the exception of St. Clair County, unemployment rates among the other counties in the region have generally remained below Wayne County. Washtenaw County has maintained the lowest unemployment rate over the years, reaching a low of 1.6 percent in 2000. The unemployment rates for each county over the past five years are shown in Table 8. The table also includes the rates in 1991, the worst year of the recession of the previous decade, for purposes of comparison. It was in this year that Detroit’s unemployment rate reached an alarming 16.9 percent. :: Although the County’s former dependency on the auto industry has been lessened as the economy has diversified, the overall health of Wayne County’s economy and labor force participation remains linked to the production of vehicles. When economic circumstances are good on a national level, demand for automobiles is at its highest. When the economy slumps, as it has since 2000, demand for automobiles drops, resulting the mass layoffs experienced in the region since 2001. Although the impact is still apparent, the severity is much less compared to he early 1980’s when the County’s unemployment rate was sometimes double the national rate. :: The unemployment rate is a good indicator of the economic disparity that exists among the different communities of Wayne County. Of 43 communities, ONLY the distressed communities had unemployment rates above the national average of 6.1 [for the most recent period available, March 2002]. Appendix 8 shows labor force statistics for each Wayne County community. :: The combined unemployment rate amongst the distressed communities is currently 10.9 percent, while it is 3.1 for the non-distressed communities. Reference Map 5: Job Change, Wayne County, 2002-2030
:: The unemployment rate is the second criteria used to determine EDA eligibility for distressed communities. In order to qualify, a community must have an unemployment rate that is at least one percent higher than the national average for a 24-month period, in this case 4.4 percent. Six of the 43 communities qualify under this criteria: Detroit, Ecorse, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Inkster and River Rouge. |
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