Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE -- Michigan's employment numbers have been on the decline for eight consecutive years, and that's expected to continue through 2011.

Since June of 2000, Michigan has lost more than 840,000 payroll jobs.  Gary Olson, Director of the non-partisan State Senate Fiscal Agency told a group in Marquette on Friday that before things improve, Michigan will have lost more than one million jobs.

"The state of Michigan right now is depressing, and I don't think anybody can shed a whole lot of bright light on that," says Jason Morgan, a Northern Michigan University junior and President of the ASNMU.

But Olson has hope for the Upper Peninsula.

"Because the UP isn't as dependent on the auto industry, you may see job growth here sooner than the state as a whole because you're not dependent on these auto related jobs up here," he explains.

Olson says that nationally, we should see job growth this summer.  But it's going to take Michigan a little longer. 

He also emphasized that Governor Granholm faces a severe challenge during her last year in office.

After struggling to balance the 2009, 2010 budget, the Governor is now looking forward to 2010, 2011.  She's proposing more cuts to education, some cuts to the prisons, but a 3% salary increase for some state employees.

"I think it's strange to see state employees pay increasing as the rest of the state is suffering so much," offers Morgan.
    
Granholm's budget calls for 35,000 unionized state government employees to get get fatter paychecks starting in October.

"The Constitution gives the Legislature the authority to turn down that pay increase.  That salary increase costs the state budget $45 million, money arguably we don't have," says Olson.

More bad news elsewhere...when next year's budget comes out, the state workforce could be shrinking, 7,500 prisoners might be released early and the $165 per-student cut in the School Aid Budget is likely to continue. 

Olson reminds you that your Legislators want to hear from you, so they know what messages to take to Lansing.