Michigan unemployment rises in July

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) - Michigan's unemployment rate is on the rise, jumping 0.4 percentage points to 9% in the latest figures from the state.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July that was released Wednesday remains 1.6 percentage points below July 2011's rate of 10.6%. The national rate has fallen 0.8 percentage points in that time.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says the number of jobless state residents actively seeking work rose by 19,000 in July, while the size of the state's labor force was little changed.

July is the third consecutive month in which Michigan's unemployment rate rose. The state's rate is up 0.7 percentage points in that time.

The federal government says July's national jobless rate stood at 8.3%, up 0.1 percentage points from June.

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Unemployment benefits do not define the statewide unemployment rate, state officials have told 24 Hour News 8 .  The rate is based on interviews with what officials calculate to be a representative sample of residents. But if a person who exhausts benefits stops looking for work, he or she does disappear from the ranks of the unemployed.