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The Trend: The Michigan Works! Southwest Region continues to recover, having gained more than 14,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between January 2021 and February 2021, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.9 percentage points. However, this may not be a positive sign, as the employment-to-population ratio and labor force participation rate remained the same from January 2021 to February 2021. Job postings were lower in February 2021 than in January 2021, with slightly fewer postings in Health Care and Social Assistance and in Manufacturing.

The Trend: St. Joseph County continues to rebound, gaining more than 2,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between February and March 2021, the unemployment rate decreased, while the employment-to-population ratio and the labor force participation rate increased. This is likely a positive sign that individuals are finding employment. Job postings were higher in March than in February, as there were slightly more postings in Manufacturing and Health Care and Social Assistance.

The Trend: Kalamazoo County continues to rebound, gaining more than 7,700 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. However, between February and March 2021, there was functionally no change within the labor force in the county. Exactly why is difficult to determine, as there may be several things causing this failure to move the needle. One notable issue has been that employers reportedly are having difficulty in finding workers, but the cause for these reported labor shortages remains unclear. Job postings were higher in March than in February, as there were slightly more postings in Health Care and Social Assistance and Manufacturing.

The Trend: Calhoun County continues to show strong growth, gaining more than 2,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between February and March 2021, the unemployment rate decreased, while the employment-to-population ratio and the labor force participation rate increased. This is likely a positive sign that individuals are finding employment. Job postings were higher in March than in February as there were more postings in Manufacturing and Accommodation and Food Services.

The Trend: Branch County continues to show some growth, with an increase of more than 800 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between February and March 2021, both the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate increased, suggesting growth in the total labor force. An increase in the employment-to-population ratio from February to March suggests that job seekers are likely finding work. Job postings were lower in March than in February as there were slightly fewer postings in Health Care and Social Assistance, Retail Trade, and Manufacturing.

The Trend: The Michigan Works! Southwest Region continues to recover, gaining more than 14,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between February and March 2021, the unemployment rate remained the same, while the labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio both increased. This may be a positive sign, indicating that individuals are quickly finding work. Job postings were higher in March than in February as there were slightly more postings in Health Care and Social Assistance and Manufacturing.

The Trend: Kalamazoo County continues to rebound gaining over 7,700 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between December 2020 to January 2021, the unemployment rate rose by 1.4 percentage points. The rise in unemployment combined with a slightly increasing labor force participation rate from December 2020 to January 2021 suggests individuals are once again looking for jobs. However, a decreased employment to population ratio suggests that hiring may be lagging. This could be for a variety of reasons, for example, there may be a mismatch between job seekers and the skills employers need, or there may still be some barriers, such as transportation or childcare, for individuals to obtain the employment opportunities available. Unfortunately, the data available does not provide the cause for this lag. Job postings were higher in January 2021 than December 2020, with an increase in manufacturing postings.

The Trend: Calhoun County continues to show strong growth, gaining over 2,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. However, between December 2020 to January 2021, the unemployment rate increased by 1.9 percentage points. It is possible that this is because individuals are once again looking for employment. An increasing labor force participation rate suggests this may be the case, while an increasing employment-to-population ratio suggests that people are finding employment. Job postings were higher in January 2021 than December 2020, with slightly more postings in Public Administration and Accommodation and Food Service.

The Trend: Branch County continues to show some growth, with an increase of over 800 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. However, between December 2020 to January 2021, the unemployment rate increased by 1.4 percentage points. It is possible that this is because individuals are once again looking for employment. An increasing labor force participation rate suggests this may be the case, while an increasing employment-to-population ratio suggests that people are finding employment. Job postings were lower in January 2021 than December 2020, with slightly fewer postings in Manufacturing and Retail Trade.

The Trend: St. Joseph County continues to rebound, having gained more than 2,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between January 2021 and February 2021, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.4 percentage points. However, this may not necessarily be a positive sign, as both the employment-to-population ratio and the labor force participation rate also decreased from January 2021 to February 2021. Job postings were lower in February 2021 than in January 2021, with slightly fewer postings in Retail Trade.

The Trend: Kalamazoo County continues to rebound, having gained more than 7,700 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between January 2021 and February 2021, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.9 percentage points. However, this may not be a positive sign, as both the employment-to-population ratio and the labor force participation rate also decreased from January 2021 to February 2021. There are positive indications that there may now be more job opportunities available, as job postings were higher in February 2021 than in January 2021, with slightly more postings in Health Care and Social Assistance and in Manufacturing.

The Trend: Calhoun County continues to show strong growth, gaining 2,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. Between January 2021 and February 2021, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points. The employment-to-population ratio increased slightly. This may be a positive sign that individuals are finding work. Job postings were lower in February 2021 than in January 2021, with slightly fewer postings in Health Care and Social Assistance and in Retail Trade.

The Trend: The Michigan Works! Southwest Region continues to recover, gaining more than 14,000 jobs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020. However, in January 2021, the unemployment rate was 1.5 percentage points higher than it had been in December 2020. An increasing labor force participation rate suggests individuals are once again looking for jobs, while an increasing employment-to-population ratio suggests that they are finding employment. Job postings were higher in January 2021 than in December 2020, with slightly more postings in Manufacturing and Public Administration.