News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Dawn Hubbard, administrative assistant of the Montmorency Controller’s Office and sole member of the Montmorency County Economic Development Corp, works in her office at the courthouse in Atlanta on Wednesday. Hubbard is trying to help a county that saw a large uptick in unemployment rates in Dec. 2023 and, with the help of local county entities coming together, she hopes to see improvements, although she’s not sure when.

ATLANTA — The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Rural Prosperity released a new roadmap that culminates thousands of surveys and conversations with rural communities statewide to better understand what problems towns are facing and how to build upon its foundation.

The Office of Rural Prosperity found seven points for communities to work on, mostly focusing on housing, economic development, and a strong workforce as the first few challenges to tackle.

“Rural Michigan is home to unparalleled natural landscapes and resources; unique, small towns that are hubs for entrepreneurship; a workforce known for its hard work and innovation; and so much more that makes it truly special,” said Susan Corbin, LEO director, in a press release. “The Roadmap synthesizes the diverse, statewide feedback received from rural residents, the rural workforce, and rural businesses to build understanding and awareness of the most pressing issues communities face. It calls attention to the central role rural communities play in driving not just their own economies, but the state and nation’s future prosperity.”

Northeast Michigan is currently seeing different projects and developments in the works to grow the economies and home markets in each county.

Alpena’s market, for example, has seen large projects such as the newly opened Marshalls department store on Bagley Street and the still-developing Aldi grocery store.

Alcona will soon see a large Lincoln Center centered toward senior citizens.

Presque Isle County will see the controversial development of an 803-acre DTE Energy solar farm.

Along with these projects, the Northeast Michigan Housing Alliance-Region E plans to add 5,000 new housing units and renovate 5,000 existing buildings in Alpena, Alcona, Crawford, Cheboygan, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Otgego, Oscoda, Roscommon, and Presque Isle counties.

The one area that is currently lacking, however, is Northeast Michigan’s workforce.

By the end of Dec. 2023, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budge found a large uptick of unemployment rates in three of the four Northeast Michigan counties, with Alcona County hitting 6.7%, Presque Isle County at 8%, and Montmorency County at 8.2%.

In terms of county rankings, with first as the lowest unemployment rate in Michigan and 83rd as the highest ratings, Alcona County was ninth to last, Presque Isle County was sixth to last, and Montmorency, tied with Oscoda County, was fifth to last.

The 2023 Michigan unemployment rate average is 4.3%.

Dawn Hubbard, administrative assistant of the Montmorency Controller’s Office, is also a part of the Montmorency County Economic Development Corp. and the only person on the EDC.

She said that she’s not sure why unemployment could be so high, as she has noticed a need for workers at many locations within Lewiston and Atlanta.

“We have H.B. Carbide in Lewiston that’s constantly looking for people,” Hubbard said. “Atlanta, they’re constantly looking for people for help. Every day on Facebook, I see people saying, ‘Are there any jobs out there?’ No, no. You got to get out there and look for it. It’s not going to come to you.”

Hubbard said that a great tool for the unemployed to get a job is Michigan Works, an organization that provides free services to find more work opportunities.

Michigan Works — which has offices in Onaway, Alpena, and Lincoln — also provides tuition assistance on the last two years of a degree, help with resumes and other aspects of job hunting, and more.

“You can call any of the Michigan Works offices and they’ll ask you what you’re looking for,” Hubbard said. “If you don’t even know what you’re looking for. They’ll tell you what jobs are out there. They will help to educate you to get you that job.”

“Several places are hiring,” Hubbard continued. “Probably just not some of the jobs people may want, but they’re hiring. Sometimes you got to do what you got to do to have money coming in the door.”

Hubbard said that she wants to see new businesses come in, but knows that it’s already hard for open businesses to stay in business.

She said that the Roadmap to Rural Prosperity is helpful to bring in new ideas for economic growth, but that they’re just ideas.

According to Hubbard, the group that makes a good difference in Northeast Michigan’s economic development is the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments, or NEMCOG.

Right now, all economic development leaders from Northeast Michigan come together once a month in a meeting to discuss potential ways to improve the region.

Hubbard said that she can’t be a part of the meetings, as they overlap with other board meetings she cannot miss, but that other people in Montmorency County are a part of it, learning more about ways to improve the area.