Michigan Leading Country In Job Losses As Report Says Whitmer’s Lockdown Decisions Not Based On Data Or Metrics

Michigan now has the 11th highest unemployment rate in the nation at 7.5% – a jump from 6.1% in October.

January 27, 2021

According to numbers released yesterday by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, Michigan led the country in December for employment decreases with a total of 64,400 jobs lost. In this same timeframe, 15 other states added jobs and 24 other states maintained the same amount of jobs. Michigan now has the 11th highest unemployment rate in the nation at 7.5% – a jump from 6.1% in October. 

The Center Square reported that “Pandemic restrictions forced 32% of Michigan businesses to close at least temporarily, the most of all 50 states in the nation.” 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID restrictions have been among the most restrictive in the country, leading to high unemployment across the state. 

• The Detroit News: 3,000 Michigan restaurants believed closed 
• WOOD-TV: 54 West Michigan businesses we said goodbye to in 2020
• The Center Square: Pandemic lockdown closed 32% of Michigan businesses, highest of all states in U.S
• The Herald-Palladium: One-third of Southwest Michigan small businesses closed at some point in ’20

Michigan restaurants, among the hardest hit businesses by Whitmer’s orders, are slated to open at 25% capacity on Feb. 1. State lawmakers, local government executives, and other advocates have been calling on Whitmer to publicly provide metrics and data used to determine lockdowns since the restrictions were first made but Whitmer’s administration has not been transparent with the data. 

A report from MIRS News yesterday states that Whitmer’s decisions are not focused on metrics, science, or data. 

“Former Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Director Robert Gordon may have signed the order to allow restaurants and bars to reopen on Feb. 1 with restrictions, but he allegedly didn’t like it and his disapproval helped lead to his eventual departure, MIRS has learned.

Sources tell MIRS Gordon wasn’t convinced the data showed that opening bars and restaurants — where individuals inevitably need to take off face coverings to consume food and drink — was safe in the era of COVID-19. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other members of her team, sensing a need to show some flexibility to an industry severely hurting from state government’s recent restrictions on indoor entertainment, saw it otherwise.

While the Governor hasn’t answered if Gordon was forced out, sources tell MIRS the answer to the question is beside the point. It was no longer a good fit, with Gordon plowing forward on strictly datadriven decisions, while the Governor was seeing a need to show some flexibility on the business restrictions.

Also, the word is the highly intelligent, but politically deaf Gordon never seemed to fully empathize with the angry masses whose livelihoods were upheaved by the state shutting down businesses.”

Michigan led the country in jobs lost last month because of Gov. Whitmer’s continued lockdowns. It’s time for Whitmer to work with the legislature to reopen the economy and safely put students back in the classroom. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action