According to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, the jobless rate for the month of September was at 18.1 percent in Detroit; it was at 9.3 percent for the state. While the state’s jobless rate remained steady between August and October, it decreased by 1.5 percent in Detroit between August and September. Please note the chart shows Michigan’s unemployment rate for the month of October, which was 9.1 percent, but no unemployment data for Detroit has been released for October.
The number of employed in the city of Detroit continues to rise. This trend began in July and has continued through September, with 4,075 more people being employed, according to the most recent data.
According to the most recent data released on South Eastern Michigan’s Purchasing Manager’s Index, the number increased about 8 points from September to October. The Purchasing Manger’s Index (PMI) is a composite index that is derived from five indicators of economic activity: new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories; a PMI above 50 means the economy is expanding. The PMI for October was 58.9 which according to the criteria, signifies that Southeast Michigan’s economy is expanding. The newest released PMI is .8 percent below the October, 2011 PMI.
The Commodity Price Index, which is a weighted average of selected commodity prices for Southeast Michigan has fluctuated throughout 2012, but began to decrease in August. Most recently, the Commodity Price Index decreased from 60 in September to 51.5 in October. This is 15.2 points below where the Commodity Price Index was in October of 2011.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices in a fixed market. The measured prices are based on prices of “food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPI in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint area, which is reported every two months, rose .5 percent from August to October, which is still higher than the June, 2012 recorded change, but lower than the 1.2 percent increase from June to August.
A higher price for food (a .6 percent increase) was noted for the increase. It was also noted there was a decrease in energy (a 1.8 percent decrease).
The CPI, minus the prices of energy and food, shown in the second graph above, reveals a much more stable line of increase. From April to October of 2012 the CPI has seen a cumulative 1.4 percent increase (.1 percent for April-June, .5 percent for June-August, and .8 percent for August-October). The BLS attributes the .8 percent increase for the August-October period to the rising price of shelter, clothing, recreation, education, and communication.