|
Employment Numbers
Labor Force June 2014 = 78,500 June 2015 = 78,400 July 2014 = 78,900 July 2015 = 78,700 Aug 2014 = 77,800 Aug 2015 = 77,900
Employment
June 2014 = 72,400 June 2015 = 73,600 July 2014 = 71,900 July 2015 = 73,800 Aug 2014 = 72,300 Aug 2015 = 73,900
Goods Producing Jobs
June 2014 = 14,900 June 2015 = 15,200 July 2014 = 14,900 July 2015 = 15,200 Aug 2014 = 15,100 Aug 2015 = 15,300
Service Providing Jobs
June 2014 = 48,800 June 2015 = 49,100 July 2014 = 48,400 July 2015 = 49,100 Aug 2014 = 48,400 Aug 2015 = 49,100
Business Counseling Appointments
SCORE & MI-SBTDC June 2014 = 63 June 2015 = 59 July 2014 = 27 July 2015 = 40 Aug 2014 = 24 Aug 2015 = 44
Muskegon County Housing Data
Number of Homes Sold
June 2014 = 218 June 2015 = 243 July 2014 = 198 July 2015 = 221 Aug 2014 = 218 Aug 2015 = 199
Average Sale Price
June 2014 = $110,716 June 2015 = $129, 352 July 2014 = $125,840 July 2015 = $124,133 Aug 2014 = $121,716 Aug 2015 = $112,060
Muskegon Airport Traffic
Takeoffs & Landings June 2014 = 2,621 June 2015 = 3,635 July 2014 = 4,067 July 2015 = 3,377 Aug 2014 = 3,686 Aug 2015 = 3,032
Airport Cargo in lbs.
June 2014 = 6,404 June 2015 = 14,800 July 2014 = 837 July 2015 = 289 Aug 2014 = 13,552 Aug 2015 = 18,995
Commercial Passengers June 2014 = 3,035 June 2015 = 3,512 July 2014 = 3,615 July 2015 = 4,207 Aug 2014 = 3,570 Aug 2015 = 4,283
MI Works! Muskegon Employment Stats
Jobs Filled June 2014 = 380 June 2015 = 148 July 2014 = 139 July 2015 = 784 Aug 2014 = 180 Aug 2015 = 50
Job Seekers (Unique Visitors)
June 2014 = 2,163 June 2015 = 2,165 July 2014 = 2,350 July 2015 = 1,908 Aug 2014 = 2,365 Aug 2015 = 1,662
Top Industries Advertised Online Demand
Industry
| Aug. 2015 | Aug. 2014 | Healthcare and Social Assistance | 235 | 148 | Manufacturing | 178 | 103 | Retail Trade | 123 | 102 |
Top Muskegon Job Occupations Advertised Online (August 2015)
Occupation
| New Postings | Production Workers | 67 | Home Health Aides | 50 | Retail Sales Worker | 36 | Sales Representative | 36 | Registered Nurse | 34 |
| |
Statistics provided by:
The Department of Energy, Labor, & Economic Growth; Local Municipalities, The Michigan Association of Realtors, Muskegon County Airport, Muskegon Area First, the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Works! Muskegon/Oceana and the Michigan Small Business Development Center.
|
|
Check out Muskegon County's Hot Jobs!
|
The Watch Muskegon marketing campaign is funded solely by private donations. Help keep the momentum and dissemination of positive news going.
|
|
|
|
Muskegon Promise Scholarship Program Receives State Approval
Muskegon Area Promise officials learned this week the Department of Treasury approved their development plan to offer two-year college scholarships to high school graduates. The plan outlines how the program would unfold beginning with 3 districts the first two years, and expanding countywide by year three.
Muskegon Area Intermediate School District Superintendent John Severson said, "I have personally seen three things happen in communities with a Promise: the population and economic activity grows, students become more serious about high school and their grades improve, and students are more likely to enroll and persist in college. This is a game-changer for our entire area."
To kick-off the program, private donations are needed to fund the first two years. Once funding is in place, Holton, Muskegon, and Muskegon Heights High School students may put the scholarship to work at either Baker College of Muskegon or Muskegon Community College. A tax capture will then set in allowing the program to be implemented county-wide in fall of 2017.
According to the plan, high school graduates must have earned at least a 3.5 grade point average and lived within district boundaries to qualify for the potential scholarships that would cover tuition, books, and mandatory fees up to $4,050.
|
|
Calling all Muskegon STARS!
Anyone can be a Muskegon STAR! in the eyes of stakeholders working on the new community image campaign. A new community specialist program called Muskegon STAR! launches October 19. Perception research showed that the majority of West Michigan residents have a lack of knowledge when it comes to Muskegon's assets. This program was launched in conjunction with the Watch Muskegon marketing campaign, to educate the community's residents, volunteers, and employees on area assets and how to sell them.
"Sharing community information effectively with guests and residents creates a positive Muskegon experience," says Cindy Larsen, President of the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce. "These positive experiences help grow our local economy, enhance pride, and increase quality of life."
"More than 1.5 million people travel to the Muskegon Lakeshore each year for vacation and it is important that we capture every possible opportunity to make a positive impression," said Bob Lukens, Community Development Director for Muskegon County. "Having certified Muskegon STARS! will enhance our destination's reputation for years to come.
"It's good for economic development," adds Brittany Lenertz, West Michigan Works! Muskegon Services Center Manager. "We want our community to create a buzz that makes people want to move to, invest in and visit the Muskegon Lakeshore."
|
|
|
Growing Demand for Downtown Housing
The greater Muskegon community is underserved in market rate rentals. That is the primary finding of a recently completed Target Market Analysis by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The extensive study was completed during the summer of 2015 by LandUse USA and Growing Home Design and looked at census data, spending patterns, current inventory and migration patterns - among other factors.
"The extensive study confirms what city and community leaders have suspected for a long time," says Jonathan Seyferth, Executive Director of Downtown Muskegon Now. "It's our hope that developers, investors and lending institutions will see this information and decide that Muskegon is a good investment for new rental development, particularly in the downtown." In addition to showing demand for market rate rentals, the study breaks out the type of individuals who are looking for rentals and the type of amenities that make living in a specific area most attractive. The study found, related to downtown specifically, that "annual market potential for at least 110 attached units should be renter-occupied. Units above street-front retail and/or located in the downtown district" would be most attractive. The study, linked above, includes analysis well beyond downtown Muskegon looking at other Muskegon County cities as well.
|
$271 Million Expansion Approved!
Mercy Health Muskegon has received approval from parent company Trinity Health to construct a new $271 million, 267 bed medical center in Muskegon on the current Mercy Campus at 1500 E. Sherman Blvd. This new medical center, which will allow for expansion and relocation of many services to the Mercy Campus, includes a new acute care, nine-story, state-of-the-art facility.
"This is a remarkable day, not only for Mercy Health Muskegon, but for everyone along the lakeshore," said Greg Loomis, President, Mercy Health Muskegon.
The new medical center will bring all Mercy Health Muskegon-area inpatient services together at a central location on the Mercy Campus and will offer single-occupancy inpatient rooms. It includes an entirely new state-of-the-art emergency department and optimized patient flows, which will improve the care experience for patients and their family members.
The following timeline outlines the next steps of the project: September 2015 - Preliminary site work May 2016 - Full-scale site work begins September 2016 - Constructions begins on the new medical center July 2018 - Renovations begin on the existing Mercy Campus building August 2018 - Completion of new medical center shell, including 9-story patient tower June 2019 - Renovations in existing building finalized and new facility fully occupied.
|
|
|