Insider Intelligence

While the impact on health is at the forefront of everyone’s concern, rightfully so, the economic impact of COVID-19 will be significant. This is already being felt from the Federal government, to local governments, to the pocketbooks of families across the country. On Thursday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that a staggering 3.3 […]

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) announced the Senate is leading a coalition to address business needs as they deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus, led by Senator Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth). The goal of the coalition is to organize an approach of immediate recovery needs and long-term sustainable changes for the next time […]

Revenue projections for the current and upcoming fiscal years were increased at today’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) in Lansing, giving the legislature more to work with during the budget process. Held in January and May, the CREC gathers economic experts to project the state of the economy in the upcoming years, as well as […]

Bicameral legislation has been introduced cracking down on payroll fraud and other related business practices. The proposal aims to strengthen whistleblower protections, toughen penalties against payroll fraud, and reimburse back-wages and benefits owed to employees. According to the press release, payroll fraud costs Michigan taxpayers $107 million a year in tax revenue when businesses misclassify […]

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month remained unchanged from the prior month at 4.2%. Total employment increased by 2,000, while unemployment rose by 3,000. Last month’s rate is higher than the national average of 3.7%. In the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn market the June 2019 unemployment rate was 4.6%, one-tenth of a percentage point over the prior month. […]

To address the skilled-labor gap in Michigan, the state has launched a new public-private partnership program named Going PRO. Through 2026 it’s estimated the state will need to fill 545,00 skilled-labor jobs. Michigan employers’ have been facing challenges finding highly skilled employees and cited it as a top concern in the recent Michigan Future Business […]

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2019 increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%. During the month total employment was unchanged, while the number of unemployed moved up by 5,000. Last months’ rate was six-tenths higher than the national rate of 3.6%. In the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area, the unemployment rate increased […]

In an effort to streamline and better coordinate efforts to meet the state’s business and labor needs, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an Executive Order renaming and reorganizing one state department. The new department is called the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and replaces the Department of Talent and Economic Development (TED). The department […]