ALPENA — Northeast Michigan’s unemployment rate remained essentially flat at about 6% from September to October even as the statewide rate climbed, according to state data released this week.

Across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties, the number of unemployed — those looking for work but not working — climbed by 76 people to 1,487 working-age adults without a job, according to data released this week by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.

The labor force, a measure of people either working or looking for work, shrank by 163 people to 26,825 in October, the state data shows.

The labor force can shrink if people die, move away, or simply give up looking for work.

Northeast Michigan’s unemployment rate in October 2023 was about 5%, so the region’s job picture this year is worse than a year ago.

The statewide unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose from about 4% to nearly 5% from September to October.

Check out the interactive graphic below showing the monthly unemployment rates for Michigan and Northeast Michigan. Hover over the lines to see the specific numbers. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below graphic.

The statewide unemployment rate in October 2023 was about 4%.

Those figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Alpena County’s 4.5% October 2024 unemployment rate tied with four other counties for the 29th-lowest among Michigan’s 83 counties.

Presque Isle County’s and Montmorency County’s 6.8% joblessness rate tied for the third-worst rate in the state.

Alcona County’s 6.7% unemployment was the fourth-worst in the state.

The most unemployed county in Michigan last month was Oscoda County, with a 7.9% unemployment rate.

Michigan’s most-employed county was Southeast Michigan’s Livingston County, where just 3.2% of working-age adults who wanted a job didn’t have one.

The Alpena News newsroom can be reached at 989-354-3111 ext. 617 or newsroom@thealpenanews.com.