The number of new Michigan unemployment claims swelled by more than 7,800 last week over the week prior, significantly outpacing every state in the nation.

In total, the state estimates 19,349 Michiganders filed new unemployment claims during the week of Christmas, or 7,810 more than the 11,539 that filed claims during the previous week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report.

That growth in new claims dwarfs all states and the District of Columbia, with the next closest states of New Jersey at 5,637 additional claims, and Pennsylvania at 5,331.

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Across the U.S., the net increase in initial unemployment claims was 7,441, as declining unemployment in 26 states was outpaced by increases in the rest.

In November, about 9,000 Michiganders lost their jobs as the state’s unemployment rate ticked up for the eighth straight month, growing at double the national average.

State officials in November reported Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped two-tenths of a percentage point from September to come in at 4.7% for October, then later revised that figure to 4.6%.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget reports Michigan’s unemployment rate has since swelled to 4.8%, jumping another two-tenths of a percentage point as the national unemployment rate increased by 0.1% in November.

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It’s now at the highest point since November 2021, when the state was still reeling from government imposed pandemic restrictions. Prior to the pandemic, Michigan’s unemployment rate was at about 3.7%, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Over the last year, Michigan’s critical manufacturing industry suffered the most with the loss of 8,000 jobs, followed by retail with a 4,000 job loss, and professional and business services, down 1,000, according to November jobs data from the MDTMB.

And there’s plenty more to come.

Notices of layoffs and closures submitted to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity show at least 1,453 will lose their jobs at nine different companies before the end of February. The notices include triple digit layoffs at Universal Logistics Insights in Detroit, Samsung’s EV battery plant in Auburn Hills, GM’s tech center in Warren, PharmaCann in Warren, Webasto Roof Systems in Rochester Hills, and FCA US in Detroit.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications are mandatory for plant closures and mass layoffs, though are not required for smaller scale job cuts.

“A covered employer must give notice if there is a mass layoff, which does not result from a nosiness closing but will result in an employment loss at the employment site during any 30-day period for 500 or more employees, or for 50-499 employees if they make up at least 33 percent of the employer’s active workforce,” according to a WARN fact sheet.

In addition to the large scale layoffs at big employers, Michigan’s restaurant and lodging industry is predicting up to 60,000 lost jobs at thousands of smaller businesses across the state as a result of legislative inaction during the last session.

Democrats who control both chambers of the legislature refused to address crippling minimum wage increases and paid leave requirements imposed by the Michigan Supreme Court, prompting Republicans to walk out of the lame duck session last month.

Michigan’s new House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richmond Twp., has vowed to mitigate the potential carnage to a food and hospitality industry that employs nearly 600,000 Michiganders when Republicans take control of the lower chamber next week.

In the meantime, the Small Business Association of Michigan, Michigan Manufacturers Association, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and most Republicans are raising the alarm about the impact of increased unemployment costs for job creators approved by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lansing Democrats last year.

The legislation increases the number of weeks unemployed residents can collect insurance from 20 to 26, while boosting the cap on weekly benefits from $326 to $614 over the next three years.

“Dramatically raising the amount and the length of unemployment benefits almost certainly would lead to higher state unemployment taxes for businesses than they would otherwise face,” Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, said in a statement cited by the Detroit Free Press. “And we should not be adopting policies that further raise costs for job providers when they are already reeling from the same inflationary pressures and other economic factors that all Michiganders have faced for the last few years.”