Michigan unemployment is revised higher, above US rate

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The federal government has corrected Michigan’s unemployment rate upward by 1.7 percentage points, above the U.S. average, citing an outlier in statistical modeling amid sharp job swings during the coronavirus pandemic.

The September jobless figure, now 6.3%, had been 4.6% — below the national rate. The October number, also released Wednesday, dipped to 6.1%.

The problem stems from inputs into the model for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metropolitan area for January, which produced "distortions" in benchmarking factors used for Michigan, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

State officials said they notified the agency of the issue in May.