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IRON MOUNTAIN — The Upper Peninsula’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in June, down from 5.9% in May and 6.1% a year ago, according to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
DTMB reported a civilian labor force of 132,600 in the U.P. in June with 6,900 unemployed. That compared with 7,900 jobless in a workforce of 132,800 in May.
Over the year, the size of the region’s labor force was down by 10,300 while the number of jobless fell by 1,900. That reflected a statewide trend as the size of Michigan’s labor force was down by 3.8% over the year -- a decline of 192,000, DTMB data showed.
“Michigan’s labor market was stable in June,” said Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped by 0.1 percentage points to 5% in June. It has stayed in a narrow range between 4.9% and 5.1% since June 2025.
The national unemployment rate edged down by one-tenth of a percentage point during June to 4.2%. The national jobless rate advanced by one-tenth of a percentage point over the year, while the statewide rate remained unchanged.
Houghton County’s June rate of 5.5% was down from 5.9% reported in May. Baraga County’s June rate of 5.8% was down more than a half percentage point from May’s 6.4 %. While Keweenaw County continued to have the UP’s highest unemployment rate at 6.6%, that rate was down considerably from the May rate of 7.5 %.
Michigan’s leisure and hospitality and government sectors recorded the largest over-the-month employment increases, with each industry adding 3,000 jobs in June, according to DTMB.
The most significant over-the-year numerical industry job gain occurred in government, up by 16,000. Since June 2025, trade, transportation and utilities, down by 8,000, and manufacturing, down by 7,000, had the greatest employment decreases.
Western Upper Peninsula June unemployment *
• Houghton -- 5.5%
• Baraga -- 5.8%
• Gogebic -- 5.9%
• Iron -- 6.0%
• Ontonagon -- 6.3%
• Keweenaw -- 6.6%
• Upper Peninsula -- 5.2%
• Michigan -- 5.1%
*Rates are not seasonally adjusted.