Michigan’s unemployment claims are increasing faster than all but three states, jumping 21.21% in just a week.

Nationally, new unemployment claims were up 2.7% week-over-week on Sept. 23, with 7.1 million Americans out of work.

“To identify where unemployment claims are increasing the most, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks,” the personal finance site reports. “We also considered the number of claims per 100,000 people in the labor force.”

The findings show Michigan ranked as the fourth among states with the biggest increases in unemployment claims over the prior week, behind only Iowa, Massachusetts, and Alaska.

The analysis found the change in unemployment claims over the week increased 21.21%, while the number of unemployed Michiganders is up 23.38% year-to-date from the same period in 2023.

Michigan’s current rate of 134 claims per 100,000 in the labor force is ninth nationally, behind Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, Iowa, and Montana.

Other states among the top 10 for the weekly unemployment claims increase include Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, North Dakota, and Indiana.

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Overall, states that generally elect more Democrats had larger unemployment claims increases than states that generally elect more Republicans.

“States are designated Red or Blue based on how they voted in the 2020 presidential election,” according to WalletHub.

Michigan’s unemployment rate ticked up for the third straight month in August to hit 4.5%, as employment declined by 12,000 from July.

Unemployment in the Great Lakes State is now up 0.5% over the last year, as the civilian labor force has grown by 0.3%, according to data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

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“Michigan’s jobless rate advanced for the third consecutive month, primarily due to a decrease in statewide employment in August,” Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics said in a statement. “Payroll jobs also dipped slightly in August and have fallen 19,000 over the last three months.”

Statewide, the labor force stood at 5,055,000, with 4,829,000 employed and about 226,000 unemployed. A year ago, 4,837,000 Michiganders were employed, and 202,000 unemployed, the data shows.

“According to the monthly survey of employers, Michigan seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll jobs fell by 2,000, resulting in a total job count of 4,488,000 in August,” the state reports.

At least nine companies have filed notices of layoffs and closures with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity for September, including J&R Schugel Trucking, Midwest Transport, Heritage Collegiate Apparel, GKN Driveline North America, Lost Boys Interactive, GM Global Tech Center, Heartland Steel Products, Bridgewater Interiors, and NeuMoDx Molecular.

Those notices impact a total of 1,177 workers, with 634 at the GM tech center alone.

Another seven business have already filed layoff notices for October that will result in an additional 2,929 Michiganders losing their jobs. A notice from Stellantis’ Warren Truck Assembly plant for Oct. 8 accounts for 2,458 of those jobs.

Stellantis announced it plans to cut another 191 workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant – where the company produces the Dodge Ram 1500 – with additional indefinitely layoffs coming for full-time employees “across its footprint,” though the company did not provide a timeline, The Detroit News reports.