OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The novel coronavirus pandemic pushed the unemployment rate in Ottawa County to its highest level since the government started recorded the data.
"To say we've had a significant increase in the monthly unemployment rate is an understatement," said David Kurili, research and data analyst for the Ottawa County Planning and Performance Improvement Department.
Ottawa's 2020 monthly unemployment rate jumped from 2.4 percent in March to 21.2 percent in April, according to data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Unemployment rates in counties throughout the state ranged from 14.5 to 41.2 percent.
"Normally, Ottawa County's unemployment rate is hovering around 2.5 percent," Kurili said.
The recent numbers registered above the county's highest unemployment rate during the Great Recession, which hit 14.5 percent in July 2009. However, those numbers were more consistent, Kurili said.
"We saw consistent rates of 10-15 percent unemployment for months, if not a couple years," he said. "This data is only for some month. Right now, it's very preliminary and remains to be seen how it will effect overall unemployment."
Bringing back employees is going to be a slow process, said Sholeh Veiseh, owner of Down to Earth. The clothing and home decor boutique closed march 16 and reopened for walk-ins last week.
"One after another, they are coming back," Veiseh said. "They are ready, and we are doing it slowly because we just don't know if people are going to show up."
Several industries are starting to bounce back, which is a good sign, Kurili said.
"Manufacturing has started opening up floors," he said. "Hospitals have started bringing staff back in and restaurants are opening next week. It will be at a limited capacity, but you should still see the wait staff and some of those people coming back to work."
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