If You’re Really Needing A Job, Think Michigan Ag Industry

Michigan's unemployment rate has skyrocketed to over 20%, creating a desperate situation for too many people, but a glimmer of hope is that there are many unfilled jobs around the state in the food and agriculture industries, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.With the northern part of Michigan gradually "re-opening" this weekend, the expectation is that opportunities will only being to increase.

Two state agencies, including one that's taken its share of lumps, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (under which the Pure Michigan campaign comes from) are using this historic time to both keep food and agriculture businesses aware of resources that are available to them, and to also make job seekers aware of jobs that are available throughout the state in those and related industries.

One thing to keep in mind, is when seeing terms like agriculture, the jobs aren't simply milking cows and baling hay. This is where connecting with people at agencies as listed below is critical in communicating and sharing information.

Here's the situation as it exists right now. There are over 800,000 Michiganders looking for work, and registered with a program named Pure Michigan Talent Connect. The state says there are a significant number of "in-demand" job that aren't being filled. The state's goal is to get more employers to post job opening through Michigan Works Job Solutions, to connect those employers to, and look at the pool of candidates that are registered with the state, rather than just filtering resumes through computers.

A quick link to connect to that pool of employees is also here, the Pure Michigan Talent Connect.