Study Says Michigan Has Little Trouble Filling Jobs

Have you noticed a few more 'Now Hiring' signs out and about here in Michigan? With the holidays fast approaching, more businesses will surely need seasonal help, but there's always the chance that someone can find a more permanent role this time of year as well.

Of course, the entire country is still recovering from the pandemic in 2020, though things are definitely a lot closer to pre-pandemic standards, thankfully. But inflation, rising housing costs and a laundry list of other factors are also leading to workers needing higher wages to get by.

After all, there have been multiple strikes this year on a national scale, with the autoworkers strike being quite significant here in Michigan.

Though the national minimum wage is still (a laughable) $7.25 per hour, Michigan's own minimum wage is $10.10 which is near the bottom for states paying higher than the national minimum. To be fair, most of those "Help Wanted' signs you see on local retailers and restaurants advertise starting pay closer to $15 an hour. Unfortunately, even that doesn't appear to be enough for the average Michigan resident.

With these factors in mind, how is Michigan holding up with getting people to work? According to a WalletHub study, The Mitten State is hiring workers at a much better rate than most of the country. Only six states and Washington D.C. are hiring better.

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The study was a rather simple one: what was the job opening rate 12 months ago and what was the rate last month? The lower the rate of each the better the state ranked. For Michigan, the rate dropped from 5.83% last year to 5.1% last month. Only three states, including Indiana, and Washington D.C. had lower job opening rates last month.

There may be plenty of businesses hiring across the state at the moment, but you should expect those signs to be taken down soon.