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Business Watch
Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus.
Articles
Michigan jobless claims top 1.1 million as state streamlines approvals
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order this week, changing the review process for benefits. The state hopes that step gets money to unemployed workers more quickly.
‘There is no playbook’ for Michigan’s businesses to navigate COVID-19
A look at first-quarter financial statements from 20 Michigan-based companies shows the first cracks from the pandemic — and raises questions about how deeply some of the state’s largest businesses will be affected.
Q&A with Brian Calley: 1 in 7 Michigan small businesses worry about survival
COVID-19 continues to pressure the state’s smallest operations, with 45 percent closed and 60 percent laying off at least one employee. Here is what an advocacy group says about the situation and what is needed next.
Michigan college towns were economically stable. Coronavirus changed that.
Cities like Ann Arbor and East Lansing benefit from the ‘economic engines’ of their state universities. Budget shortfalls, potential layoffs and more fallout from COVID-19 now threaten their financial balance, from students shopping in local stores to how many people they employ.
As Michigan economy nears reopening, businesses scramble for protective gear
Like hospitals before them, businesses across the state face the prospect of having to compete for personal protective equipment they expect will be required to reopen but remains in high demand amid the global pandemic.
‘Scary times’ for Michigan restaurants won’t end when dining rooms reopen
Coronavirus is still battering the state’s restaurant industry, which lost $1.2 billion in sales in April and saw 75 percent of workers laid off. Switching to carry-out and opening for fewer patrons may not be enough for many to survive.
Michigan tribes losing police, health budgets as coronavirus shuts casinos
Casinos insulate Michigan tribal budgets against a chronic shortage of federal funding. But with casinos shuttered to prevent COVID-19 spread, tribal leaders now find themselves wondering how to fund key programs.
Some in Michigan make more from unemployment than work during coronavirus
Businesses in the northeast Lower Peninsula say some workers are not quite ready to return to their jobs, given the boost in income they receive from special federal and state funding during the pandemic lockdown.
How some Michigan counties are insulated against coronavirus unemployment
Certain places in Michigan are losing more jobs than others. It’s the same old story in a state where manufacturing still dominates the economy in some counties.
Bridge expands Michigan business/economy coverage with acclaimed journalist
Bridge expands its journalism with addition of a Business Watch section and adds the 2019 Michigan Press Association Journalist of the Year to lead coverage.
Michigan small businesses rocked by coronavirus turn to Congress for help
Programs set up to help businesses decimated by the coronavirus shutdown have run out of money or halted applications. One Michigan business owner thought his application for a portion of $349 billion in federal stimulus was set only to learn the money ran out.
Beaumont Health security breach puts personal information of 112,000 at risk
Among the details that may have been leaked to "an unauthorized third party" include names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medical conditions, and in some cases, bank account information and driver's license numbers.
‘Depression-level’ Michigan unemployment tops 1 million from coronavirus
Economists are struggling to find words to describe stunning job losses they’re seeing in the state, and they don’t know how many more will follow during the economic lockdown in a pandemic
Coronavirus could drain Michigan unemployment fund within months
The crush of 1 million new claims is rapidly depleting Michigan’s unemployment fund, which could force the state to borrow money. Jobless workers would still get checks, but Michigan may have to raise business taxes to repay the debt, slowing any recovery.
Michigan food supply firm innovates, finds new markets amid coronavirus crisis
Like many businesses, Frog Holler Produce in Ann Arbor faced coronavirus shutdown. Until they decided to “spin the wheel” and open new lines of business.
Michigan farmers fear ruin as coronavirus lockdown collapses prices
Michigan’s stay-at-home order has shut supply chains to restaurants and schools and decimated the market for many farmers. ‘This is about as worried as I’ve ever been,’ one says.
When Michigan unemployment, stimulus checks, and $600 CARES money will arrive
Your guide to unemployment and other payments as Michigan deals with the devastating economic impact of a deadly virus
Michigan now second in nation for jobless claims amid coronavirus pandemic
Despite widespread complaints over a sluggish website and slammed call center, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency successfully processed 817,185 initial benefits claims between March 15 and April 4, second only to the more populous state of California.
Few coronavirus cases, but hundreds still victims in U.P. tribal community
Bryan Newland, chairman of the northeastern Upper Peninsula tribe, said Bay Mills Indian Community leaders had no choice but to stop paying employees of the tribe’s resort and casinos after a request for federal relief loans went unanswered.
Coronavirus shutdown could leave 1 in 4 jobless in northern Michigan
Already gearing for a recession, Michigan faces billions of dollars in lost wages and tens of thousands of job cuts. Using maps and charts, Bridge explains how the impact of the coronavirus shutdown will vary widely by industry and maps.