Detroiters working full-time hits 13-year high, officials say

The number of Detroiters working full-time jobs hit a 13-year high in September, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and others said Monday.

In September, the last month for which data is available, 237,099 Detroiters were working, according to monthly employment data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was an increase of 10,000 jobs from the same period a year ago. It also marked the first time the total number of Detroiters working rose above pre-pandemic levels, officials said.

"For the first time in my lifetime, any Detroiter who wants work can find a good paying job," Duggan said at Monday press conference at Henry Ford Health's New Center campus.

Duggan touted a wide range of jobs from such major employers as Stellantis, Amazon, Henry Ford Health as well as job training through the city's Detroit At Work program.

He also credited a $100 million in scholarships funded by the federal pandemic relief fund called the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. The scholarships are available for training and overall job preparedness. They can be accessed through the Detroit At Work program, which has nine career centers throughout the city and offers free training in a variety of fields, including health care, IT, transportation, skilled trades, and manufacturing.

Voncile Conrad, 39, a clinical service representative at Henry Ford Health in New Center, is among the Detroiters who benefited from Detroit At Work programs, she said.

Conrad was an auto worker but after the pandemic she didn't want return to a factory job because she found it "physically and mentally" stressful, she said at the Monday press conference. Through Detroit At Works, Conrad found her Henry Ford Health job within two weeks. She's already interviewing for promotions.

"Job security ― I love that," Conrad said.

Henry Ford Health has hired 185 Detroit residents since 2019 and it is gearing up for a major expansion of its New Center facility, officials said Monday.

Construction jobs are the top sector leading the growth, said Terri Weems, the city's Group Executive of Workforce and Detroit at Work.

Beyond the rising number of jobs, the number of Detroiters returning to the workforce has hit pre-pandemic levels, Weems said.

"There are more than 12,000 people this year, than last" in the workforce, Weems said. Before the pandemic, the city's workforce was around 235,000, Weems said.

The city's jobless rate, meanwhile, has gone up and down. It was 7.9% in September, according to Labor Statistics monthly data, up from 4.2% in April, its lowest rate in 33 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobless rate has risen partly because the number of people returning to the labor force has also steady climbed in the past months.

laguilar@detroitnews.com