Local Chambers See Slight Job Growth

Drawing from the experience of nearly 1,600 members, local chambers of commerce on Friday cited slight job growth this year.

That news comes in light of national unemployment statistics released that day by the Labor Department. The report cited 54,000 new jobs in May, bringing the jobless rate to 9.1 percent. That's up from the previous 9 percent and lower than economists had projected.

While the national statistics are of interest to the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce and Anchor Bay Chamber of Commerce, the fluctuating numbers don't carry too much stock for them.

"We try to stay up on them, but we're more interested in what our members are saying," said Lisa Edwards, marketing director of the Sterling regional chamber and president of the Anchor Bay one.

In terms of unemployment in the area, "it seems to be tapering off from what we can see based on our feedback from our members," Edwards said.

The combined 1,586 members of the two chambers is a slightly higher membership number than in recent years, she said.

While retail and leisure hospitality seem to be decreasing in job demand, the health care sector is on the rise for jobs in Macomb County, according to the chamber.

Edwards cited some local examples of other business growth in the area, such as New Baltimore-based expanding into Shelby Township and the opening of Hantz Bank in spring in Clinton Township. Edwards noted that the new bank is a chamber member.

Late last month, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget reported that in a year—April 2010 to April 2011—unemployment rates fell in all of the state's 17 regions. Declines ranged from 1.9 to 3.9 percentage points with a median reduction of 2.8 percentage points. The biggest jobless rate drops in that time frame were not in Metro Detroit.