After 10 years of steady growth, Michigan's economy faces headwinds

A decade since 2009 — the end of the worst recession in generations — Michigan’s economy has grown at a tortoise pace: Slow and steady.

Today, unemployment is low. Most of the jobs lost in Michigan during the 2000s have been regained. And consumers are still generally optimistic, though they’re concerned about talk of tariffs.

Michigan (and the nation) is now enjoying the longest economic recovery in more than a century. Yet several factors are emerging that could leave the state more vulnerable to the next downturn, from transformations in the automotive industry that are costing some manufacturing jobs, to ongoing talent challenges, to international trade skirmishes Michigan has limited power to control.

The ongoing national expansion surpasses the previous record, from March 1991 to March 2001, and economists say it isn’t expected to end anytime soon. Put simply, a growing economy doesn’t die just because it’s old.

Read more: https://www.bridgemi.com/economy/after-10-years-steady-growth-michigans-economy-faces-headwinds