Michigan unemployment surpasses national numbers for second month [Video]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As unemployment continues to rise across the country, Michigan is seeing the effects.

Recent data shows that for the second month in a row, the state’s unemployment rate has surpassed the nation’s average.

According to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, the state’s unemployment rate rose by 7.8% in the month of July, while the national average advanced by 5.2%.

Professor Paul Isely, an economist at Grand Valley State University, told News 8 these numbers are not trending favorably in the next few months.

“People are actually worse off this June than they were last June in Michigan. And that is problematic,” he said. “If you look at the hourly wage of workers in West Michigan, it has gone up. But the weekly wage, the amount of money they take home, has gone down.”

Report: 41% in Michigan are in poverty or are struggling financially

Isely added that one of the hardest …