State officials say Michigan's unemployment rate rose by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9 percent for August even as the number of people in the workforce declined for the fourth straight month.
Figures released Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget show the state jobless rate is a full percentage point lower than the 4.9 percent rate from August 2016. Michigan'sunemployment rate remains lower than the national mark of 4.4 percent for August.
The agency says Michigan's workforce shrunk by 7,000 in August after dropping by 24,000 in July. Despite that decline, an additional 10,000 Michigan residents were unemployed last month.
The agency says the August jobless rate increase was the state's first since February.
