According to data released Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB), the state's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in November was 9.8 percent. That's down from 10.6 percent in October.
That's the lowest unemployment rate for the state in three years.
The Detroit-Warren-Livonia Metropolitan Statistical Area's (MSA) jobless rate in remained high last month at 11.2 percent, but was almost a full percentage point drop from October.
The declines in unemployment match the overall trend nationwide. In November, the national jobless rate fell below 9 percent.
Some 9,000 more people were employed in the Detroit metro area last month, but the workforce also declined by 11,000 people. The number of people in the workforce has declined nearly 2 percent since this time last year.
Statewide, the number of jobs has increased by only 0.4 percent this year. Government jobs have been the biggest losers, shedding nearly 11,000 since January. According to DTMB, "The vast majority of the over-the-year job reductions in government were recorded at the local level."
In Detroit, officials grappling with the city's fiscal crisis have proposed cutting even more jobs. As many as 2,300 city workers would get the axe under a plan proposed by some City Council members. Mayor Bing has called for the elimination of 1,000 city jobs.