Oakland County’s unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in April, marking the first time since October 2008 that the rate dipped below 8 percent and the lowest it has been since it hit 7.1 percent in September 2008.
According to a recent press release from the county, the March unemployment rate in Oakland County was 8.3 percent. The April unemployment figures indicate there are 535,512 individuals employed in Oakland County out of a total work force of 578,794.
Statewide, unemployment rates were down in 15 of Michigan’s 17 major labor market areas in April, according to an article in the Daily Tribune.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in the release that he credits the Emerging Sectors initiative for the latest county jobs news.
“The private sector created about 48,000 jobs in Oakland County the past two years, with the lion’s share of that growth in the high-salary category,” Patterson said. “We will add at least another 41,000 jobs in the next three years, according to George Fulton and Don Grimes. It’s clear our foray into the knowledge-based economy almost a decade ago was both prescient and vital to our future.”
Patterson launched the Emerging Sectors initiative to identify the top 10 sectors that will attract and retain sustainable, high-paying jobs to the region in the 21st century. Companies in these sectors are involved in fields such as advanced electronics and controls, communications and information technology, and robotics and automation.
From its inception in 2004 through last month, 234 Emerging Sectors companies have invested $2.25 billion in Oakland County creating 29,100 jobs and retaining 13,234, according to the news release.
For more information on Emerging Sectors, visit AdvantageOakland.com.
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