State unemployment figures are no exception to the rule of revision. Estimates for 2002 were recently modified in an annual process mandated by the Department of Labor. The tweaking included updating data such as insurance claims and industry job counts. In addition, the sum of all county employment and unemployment estimates was adjusted to equal revised statewide totals.
Gogebic County had the lowest rate of unemployment in the Upper Peninsula in January, according to the Michigan Department of Career Development. Winter recreation and activity at ski hills assisted the Gogebic Range in reaching its 7.1 percent rate, down from 7.3 percent one year ago.
As a whole, the U.P.'s unemployment rate climbed to 9.2 percent, more than 2 percentage points higher than the December rate. The highest unemployment rate in the region was Mackinac County at 20.8 percent. A short-term layoff at a Marquette County manufacturing facility and seasonal layoffs brought the number of unemployed in the U.P. to 14,000.
—Rosie Catlado
