The association between COVID-19-related business closures and unemployment in Michigan is clear. | stock photo
The association between COVID-19-related business closures and unemployment in Michigan is clear. | stock photo
Battling the COVID-19 pandemic has been an ongoing learning experience for Michigan, as well as the country and the world.
Some statistics reported by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy don't seem shocking at face value, but they do leave past actions subject to debate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has learned, through surveying businesses about their response to the pandemic, that Michigan has had some of the strictest lockdown mandates in place under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The governor is now loosening some of the lockdown orders as the state has learned that the toll on its economy was costly, while its ability to stem the spread of the coronavirus is somewhat more questionable.
Michigan had one-third of its workforce subjected to the business shutdowns, which is second only to the state of Nevada. Nationally, 21% of the workforce fell victim to government-mandated shutdowns. BLS found that states experience higher unemployment when governors force more businesses to close. The impact began in May and was still being felt in November, although the relationship between the two was not as strong.
The Mackinac Center found that when considering the relationship between the lockdowns and reported coronavirus deaths, closures of business are not as closely associated with the death rate as they are with unemployment. The Center is not certain what the association between the two may be, if there is one at all.
Given how little was known about the coronavirus, particularly last spring, there were difficult choices to be made. Those states like Michigan that made more extreme decisions appear to have questionable results in preventing the spread of COVID-19. But those decisions had clearer effects on the economy and unemployment.
James Hohman of the Mackinac Center believes that the governor’s orders loosening the lockdown don't seem to have any rhyme or reason. But the past can be a useful tool in determining Michigan's plan for moving forward, hopefully with all of its citizens' best interests in mind.
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