(LANSING) – Michigan's unemployment rate dropped during the month of April.

The Michigan Department of Technology Management & Budget says the State's seasonally adjusted jobless rate decreased from 5.1 percent in March to 4.9 percent in April. Employment in Michigan edged up modestly by 6,000 and unemployment moved down by 8,000. That results in the state workforce inching down by 2,000 over the month.

Wayne Rourke, Associate Director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives says Michigan's employment situation has improved markedly, one year after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic related layoffs. However, Rourke says there were auto related layoffs in Michigan that happened in April 2021 due to the national shortage of semiconductor chips.

The national unemployment rated edged up by a tenth of a percentage point in April to 6.1 percent. Michigan's April jobless rate was 1.2 percent below the U.S. rate. Over the year, the national rate fell by 8.7 percent, while Michigan's rate dropped by 18.7 percent.