Is Michigan the One State Recession?

The Detriot News reports:

Michigan's unemployment rate ticked up to 6.3 percent in June, up from 6 percent in May, as a weak job market continues to weigh down the state.

"After some significant monthly movements in the jobless rate in the first half of 2006, the May-to-June change in the unemployment rate was relatively minor," said Rick Waclawek, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives of the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth.

A slight increase of 10,000 jobs in manufacturing and government in June was offset by 12,000 total jobs lost, spread out among almost every other major sector, according to the Department of Labor's statistics.

It was the 58th consecutive month that Michigan's unemployment rate registered higher than the nation's, which remained unchanged at 4.6 percent in June.

Lansing economist Patrick Anderson has often described Michigan's lackluster economy as a "one-state recession."

Fueling that recession is the loss of thousands of auto industry jobs during the past year. Those stable, manufacturing jobs that paid handsome salaries defined an era that has virtually ended now in Michigan.

Union dominated places lead to slow or no growth.Stability for some is high costs for others.