From the Detroit News...
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090306/BIZ/903060378State jobless rate hits 11.6%
Michigan's jobless rate, which soared to a 25-year high at 11.6 percent in January, is driving a record number of state residents to sign up for Medicaid, the state's health care plan for the poor.
The unemployment rate was up 1.4 percentage points from December and is the highest since May 1984, according to data released Thursday by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth.
State officials report the average monthly number of Medicaid recipients for the budget year that started Oct. 1 is at a record 1.67 million, up 7.3 percent compared to a year ago, and is expected to climb even higher throughout the year as more state workers lose their jobs and health care benefits.
Total employment in Michigan -- a state whipsawed by national recession and a sliding auto industry -- has fallen for 20 consecutive months.
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