Michiganders want our home state to be prosperous and successful. Politicians are constantly talking about creating jobs or making Michigan better for the normal folks. And if you watch the talking heads on TV, it seems things are always headed in the right direction. But just one little problem…they’re not!
Here are Five Fast Facts on why People Are Saying Michigan’s Jobs Don’t Pay Enough:
- 📉 Falling Short - Business leaders have aimed to make Michigan a “top 10 state” for jobs, education, and income for several years. Sadly, it’s not gone well. In 2023, a bunch of business bigwigs admitted that we’re 31st in the nation. The median pay last year was about $24 per hour, not even close to the $65k-$70k needed to be “middle class”. Sixty percent of Michigan’s jobs pay less than what a family of three needs to be considered middle class. Um, who really stops with just one kid?
- ☕ Long Time Coming - The state’s per-capita income was better than average for most of the 1900s, and in 1999 we were 16th. But in 2022 it was just $57k, about 13% below the national average, for a lousy 39th in the nation. And that didn’t even include part-time or seasonal workers, which brings it down to only about $40k. Definitely not enough to include Starbucks!
- 😣 From Bad To Worse - If things keep going at the same rate they are now, Michigan’s income would drop to 48th place by 2045. Cue the Enya music.
- 🤔 What The Heck - So what’s going on? A big piece of the puzzle is the decline of good paying auto manufacturing jobs. Wages for auto workers went from almost 16% of all wages in the state in 2000 down to under 8% in 2022, and those lost auto jobs aren’t being replaced by other higher paying jobs. Womp womp.
- 💻 Get Modern - The key to turning the tide is tech-focused “knowledge” jobs. They typically require a 4-year degree but bring much higher wages - the average salary for these jobs is over $91k! But the state spent 88% of its incentives last year on manufacturing jobs, and only 9% on tech jobs. Call us crazy, but it seems like they’re solving the wrong problem.
🔥Bottom line: We’re sure it sucked to be a carriage builder back when the combustion engine came out and cars became a thing. But who would argue that we’d have been better off if we stuck with the carriages? It’s tough to adapt and learn new skill sets, but sometimes that’s the best (or only) path forward. If we want Michigan to prosper, it looks like that’s the choice in front of us now.
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