Department of Numbers

Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Grand Rapids fell 0.7 percentage points in September 2020 to 6.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.8 percentage points lower than the Michigan rate. The unemployment rate in Grand Rapids peaked in April 2020 at 22.3% and is now 15.5 percentage points lower. You can also compare Grand Rapids unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate September 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
National 7.9% -0.5 +4.4
Michigan 8.6% -0.1 +4.7
Grand Rapids 6.8% -0.7 +3.9
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with September 2020 data as October metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Grand Rapids, Michigan, National

Grand Rapids, Michigan monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Grand Rapids, Michigan Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Grand Rapids peaked in April 2020 at 120,538. There are now 80,595 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons September 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
Grand Rapids 39,943 -4,633 +23,383

Number of Unemployed Persons

Grand Rapids, Michigan Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Michigan
Unemployment Rate		 Grand Rapids
Unemployment Rate		 Grand Rapids
Unemployed
October
2020		 6.9% 5.5% — —
September
2020		 7.9% 8.6% 6.8% 39,943
August
2020		 8.4% 8.7% 7.5% 44,576
July
2020		 10.2% 8.7% 7.7% 45,125
June
2020		 11.1% 14.9% 11.9% 71,501
May
2020		 13.3% 21.3% 17.5% 100,460
April
2020		 14.7% 24.0% 22.3% 120,538
March
2020		 4.4% 4.3% 2.6% 14,570
February
2020		 3.5% 3.6% 2.6% 15,225
January
2020		 3.6% 3.8% 2.8% 16,076
December
2019		 3.5% 3.9% 2.8% 16,047
November
2019		 3.5% 3.9% 2.8% 16,219

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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