Michigan’s unemployment rates fell across most local labor markets in August, but the improvement came as the number of people working or looking for work also declined statewide.

A regional report released Thursday by the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics found jobless rates decreased in 13 of the state’s 18 labor-market areas from July. The median decline was 0.1 percentage point, and rates ranged from 3.7% in the Traverse City metropolitan area to 5.8% in Flint and Northeast Lower Michigan.

The headline decline does not by itself signal broad hiring strength. Total employment fell in all 18 regions during the month, while every region also recorded a smaller labor force. Statewide, the not-seasonally-adjusted labor force shrank by 43,000 people from July, employment fell by 33,000 and unemployment declined by 10,000. That combination lowered the unadjusted state unemployment rate from 5.4% to 5.2%.

Michigan labor-market information director Wayne Rourke said the regional rate reductions were “primarily influenced by workforce declines.” That distinction matters because an unemployment rate can fall when people stop working or looking for work, not only when employers add jobs.

The state’s employer survey offered a more mixed picture. Michigan payrolls edged up by 5,000 jobs in August, a 0.1% increase, with government adding 6,000 positions and professional and business services adding 3,000. Nine of 15 metropolitan areas posted payroll gains. The figures come from the federal establishment survey, which counts jobs, while unemployment and labor-force measures come from the separate Local Area Unemployment Statistics program.

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn illustrates the crosscurrents. The region’s rate fell to 5.7% from 6% in July, yet employment was down 23,000 for the month. Compared with August 2025, Detroit-area employment was 32,000 lower and the number of unemployed residents was 23,000 higher.

County results were broader but similar. Fifty-nine of Michigan’s 83 counties recorded lower jobless rates from July, and 71 were below their August 2025 levels. Battle Creek had the largest monthly metropolitan decline, falling half a percentage point to 5.3%. Midland and Muskegon were the only metro areas with monthly rate increases, while Ann Arbor, Bay City and Flint were unchanged.

The longer-term statewide figures also warrant caution. Michigan had 212,000 fewer employed people than a year earlier on an unadjusted basis, and its labor force was smaller by 208,000. At the same time, payroll employment was 12,000 higher, underscoring that the household and employer surveys measure different populations and can move in different directions.

Residents should not read a single month as a definitive trend. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes in its methodology that local estimates combine survey, unemployment-insurance and other administrative data and are subject to revision. September results will show whether August’s lower rates marked durable job growth or continued contraction in the available workforce.