IRON MOUNTAIN — Unemployment rates fell across the Upper Peninsula in September, although they remained above pre-pandemic September 2019 levels, according to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.

“Michigan jobless rate reductions in September were influenced by workforce declines in several regions over the month,” said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Payroll employment advanced in September as local schools and colleges re-opened for the fall.”

The not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Upper Peninsula in September was 4%, down from 4.4% in August and 5.3% in September 2020. The U.P.’s jobless rate in September 2019 was 3.6%.

The region’s civilian labor force totaled 134,600, a decline of 0.6% since August but nearly the same as September 2020. The U.P. had 5,400 workers looking for employment, the DTMB said.

Over the month, all 83 counties in Michigan showed unemployment rate reductions over the year, Rourke said. The state unemployment rate was 3.8%, down from 7.8% in September 2020.

However, nearly all of the state’s labor market areas had jobless rate increases since September 2019, with a median advance of 1.3 percentage points.

Delta County’s jobless rate was 4.2 percent. It was 3.5 percet in Menominee County and 5.2 percent in Schoolcraft County.

The lowest jobless rate in the Upper Peninsula in September was 2.5% in Mackinac County. The second-lowest was Menominee County at 3.5%, followed by Dickinson and Houghton, both at 3.8%.

The highest jobless rate in the U.P. was 5.8% in Ontonagon County.

Upper Peninsula unemployment rates

As of September 2021 unemployment county rates:

Mackinac – 2.5%

Menominee – 3.5%

Dickinson – 3.8%

Houghton – 3.8%

Marquette – 3.9%

Gogebic – 4.0%

Iron – 4.1%

Delta – 4.2%

Chippewa – 4.4%

Keweenaw – 4.5%

Luce – 4.5%

Schoolcraft – 5.2%

Alger – 5.3%

Baraga – 5.4%

Ontonagon – 5.8%

U.P. – 4.0%

Michigan – 3.8%

U.S. – 4.8%