State's jobless rate off 0.3 points to 7.4 percent

LANSING (AP) - The state says Michigan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 7.4 percent in the latest month. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget released the August employment report Wednesday. The jobless rate was 7.7 percent in July and 9 percent in August 2013. The national unemployment rate for August was 6.1 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from July. The state says that Michigan's civilian labor force fell by 11,000 to 4.731 million in August. It says the number of people working rose 4,000 to 4.382 million. The state says 348,000 Michigan residents were unemployed but actively seeking work last month. -------- Online: Jobs report: http://1.usa.gov/1p1Ezsv. Department: http://www.michigan.gov/dtmb. Published: Fri, Sep 19, 2014