Michigan had an unemployment rate of 4.5% in August, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget announced Thursday.

August was the third consecutive month the unemployment rate has increased in Michigan. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2% in August, while the Michigan rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than the national rate.

Between August 2023 and August 2024, Michigan unemployment rose 11.9%, while national unemployment rose 12.2%.

The number of people employed in Michigan decreased by 0.2% in August compared to the previous month, while the national employment level rose by 0.1%. The labor force participation rate, which measures the amount of people working or actively looking for work, decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.3%.

Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, said that the decrease in employment in August was due to a decrease in statewide employment. “Payroll jobs also dipped slightly in August and have fallen 19,000 over the last three months,” Rourke said.