Economy

'The sequester' has generated a nervous buzz throughout the nation as we wait to see if the federal budget cuts will be a big deal. 

For some agencies in Michigan, the cuts are already here.

Let's take a look at one of the state's most popular scenic tourist destinations - the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Last year, the Dunes had a record year with 1.53 million visitors.

Tom Ulrich is the Deputy Superintendent of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Though he wasn't told to furlough any of his year round employees, Ulrich was required to cut a lot of the seasonal employees that are crucial to park maintenance over the summer.

Today, Michigan becomes the nation's 24th right-to-work state. It's the second in the Midwest, after Indiana.

The law was passed with much controversy and thousands of demonstrators packing in and around the state Capitol last December.

A new poll out today shows that Michiganders are deeply divided over the new law.

Michigan State University’s  “State of the State Survey” asked more than a thousand people whether they thought right-to-work would be good for Michigan’s economy.

42 percent said it would be good and 41 percent said it would be bad, while 16 percent said right-to-work would have no effect on Michigan’s economy.

Charley Ballard,  economist at MSU, directs the survey and he filled us in on what the percentages look like and what people really think about right-to-work.

Listen to the full interview above.

Michigan’s employment picture brightened a bit in February.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says the state’s jobless rate dipped slightly in February, down one tenth of one percent, to 8.8%.   Michigan's unemployment rate has been declining since last August. 

In real numbers, total employment increased by 15,000 jobs over the month while the number of unemployed declined slightly by 3,000.

Today, the annual Washtenaw County Outlook event will bring  economists, businesses, and government officials together to address the current and future economic prospects for the county.

Lizzy Alfs of AnnArbor.com reports many were surprised to hear an economic forecast that Washtenaw County is expected to increase its job growth.

How much will Michigan residents actually feel the effects of the sequester?

Well, we're still waiting to find out. 

The lack of clarity concerning the real amount of jobs being furloughed and cuts to departments and agencies is largely due to a continuing resolution that President Obama will sign this week.

The resolution will fund the government for the next six months in order to get the country through the next fiscal year. 

Todd Spangler covers the nation's Capitol for the Detroit Free Press and joined us from Washington  D.C.

As part of our State of Opportunity project, we’re following parents as they struggle to get off public assistance and make a better future for their children. This is an update on one of those families.

I first interviewed Keisha Johnson on a steamy summer day last June. Johnson, 25, grew up poor and is still poor to this day. But she has three reasons she wants to climb out poverty, and their names are Kaleb, Jurnee, and Alan, Jr.

Every day, the workforce in Michigan is getting grayer.

In 2001, the concentration of workers 55 and older was 12.1 percent. In 2011, that percentage jumped to 19.1 percent.

For decades experts have predicted the huge group of babyboomers would influence the economy as they aged, but what does that mean for Michigan employers?

Which industries have the highest concentrations of older workers and what does that mean for college students who want jobs after they graduate?

Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Jacob Bisel, a senior economic analyst at the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, about what Michigan's workforce means for young job seekers and Michigan employers.

To hear the full interview, click the link above.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition asked the question, "where in America can a low-wage worker afford a two bedroom apartment?"

Their answer:

"Nowhere"

That's "nowhere" assuming the renter is spending no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.

Ask any financial advisor and they'll tell you that's the general rule of thumb. It's called the 'housing cost burden.'

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The state's "Pure Michigan" tourism campaign is kicking off a $13 million national cable television advertising effort.

The new campaign begins airing Monday and runs through the end of June. It includes five partners that pitched in a total of $3 million: Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Mackinac Island, Traverse City and The Henry Ford historical attraction in Dearborn.

The state says Ann Arbor contributed $1 million and the other four partners contributed $500,000 each.

Press conferences and news updates have given us minute-by-minute coverage of Kevyn Orr's appointment as Detroit emergency manager by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder today. 

Orr's repeated assurance that he will "look at the data" before moving forward may be part of his approach, but what does that mean?

Municipal finances and emergency manager laws are being used frequently by Orr, Snyder and Bing.

To outline and define these terms and their implications, Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Michigan State University professor of Economics Eric Scoresone.

Scoresone is an expert in the state's emergency manager laws as well as municipal finances within the state of Michigan.

Listen to the full interview above.