Isabella County has state’s fourth lowest jobless rate; passed by others because of seasonal tourism

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Michigan’s unemployment rate decreased to 12.3 percent during September, but Isabella County did not stack up as well as it has in the past.

The county’s 8.5 percent rate normally vies for the lowest unemployment, along with Washtenaw County, which registered at 8.4 percent. This September, both were surpassed by Mackinac and Cheboygan counties.

Mackinac’s 5.8 percent and Cheboygan’s 8.0 percent unemployment rate could be explained by increased tourism employment, said Mark Reffitt, regional economic analyst for the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth.

“Historically, Isabella County is always amongst the lowest in the state,” Reffitt said. “Mostly because it’s got a diverse economic mix.”

The presences of CMU and the Soaring Eagle Casino employs many people and draws in other businesses, Reffitt said.

The two entities attract many retailers and restaurants, he said, creating a larger job market. Washtenaw County also does well because of the University of Michigan.

Refitt said with winter months coming, there might be more employment with seasonal jobs in areas such as snow removal and retail.

“Even if the county drops in their ranking,” Reffitt said, “Isabella is still up there.”

Other reasons

The primary reason Isabella is doing better than other counties is because the local economy does not rely on manufacturing, said Paul Natke, professor and chairman of Economics at Central Michigan University. That is why Flint and the Detroit area were doing so poorly during the recession, he said.

The economy in Mount Pleasant is based more on services, Natke said, which makes it much more stable over time.

He said there might be slight increases or decreases because of seasonal jobs, but places like the casino have a steady flow of people coming to it year-round.

“Places like Traverse City that are more based on tourism are going to be hit harder when their seasons end,” Natke said. “But Mount Pleasant doesn’t have to worry about that since the casino doesn’t fluctuate too much seasonally.”

Michigan’s unemployment rate is still higher than the national average. For the month of September the national average was 9.6 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, while Michigan’s was 12.3 percent.

Michigan’s economy and job market is strengthening but is moving at a slow and steady pace, Natke said.

“There is some major restructuring going on with the auto industry,” he said. “Because of that, there aren’t going to be any major changes anytime soon when it comes to employment in the industry.”

Tawas City freshmen Callie Anderson said once she graduates, she plans on moving out-of-state.

“I plan on getting out of here,” she said. “Mostly because of the bad economy.”