(WXYZ) — While parts of Michigan continue to reopen and some people go back to work, Michigan's unemployment rate saw a slight increase earlier this month.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Michigan's unemployment rate was at 23.1% for the week ending May 9. That put the state at the fifth-highest rate in the nation.
On top of that, the state saw one of the largest increases in initial unemployment claims for the week ending May 16 with 1,549.
The state saw more than 57,000 people file for unemployment in the week ending May 23.
For the 10th straight week, weekly initial claims for unemployment have totaled in the millions.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that 2.1 million people filed initial claims for unemployment for the week ending May 23. In the last 10 weeks, 40 million Americans have filed claims for unemployment.
Thursday's report marked the eighth straight week in declining unemployment figures, but unemployment claims remain historically high. Prior to the pandemic, the record high for weekly unemployment claims came in 2006, when 665,000 people filed for unemployment. The Department of Labor has been tracking the statistics since 1967.
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