• From July 2015 to August 2015, the unemployment rate across the state and in the city of Detroit decreased (monthly);
• The Purchasing Manager’s Index for Southeast Michigan increased from August 2015 to September 2015 (monthly);
• Commodity Price Index decreased from August 2015 to September 2015 for Southeast Michigan (monthly);
• Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area shows home prices are about $7,000 higher than this time last year.

According to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, the unemployment rate for the state of Michigan decreased from 6.1 percent in July to 5.2 percent in August. During this same period, unemployment in the City of Detroit also decreased from 13.9 percent in July to 12.2 percent in August. The Detroit rate is 2.4 percentage points lower than where it was in August of 2014.

From July to August , the number of people employed in the city of Detroit increased by about 550, for a total of 213,806 people employed in the city in August. From March to August, the number of people employed in the city increased by 4,400. In the last year, the month of March had the lowest number of people employed in the city of Detroit.

The above chart shows the number of people employed in the auto manufacturing industry in the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (Detroit-Warren-Livonia) from August 2014 to August 2015. From July to August the number of people employed in this industry increased by 3,800, to a total of 105,300. This number is 3,200 less than this year’s peak of 108,500 in June.

The Purchasing Manger’s Index (PMI) is a composite index derived from five indicators of economic activity: new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. A PMI above 50 indicates the economy is expanding.

According to the most recent data released on Southeast Michigan’s Purchasing Manager’s Index, the PMI for September 2015 was 57.7, an increase of 1.1 of a point from the prior month. It was also a decrease of 2.2 from September of 2014.

The Commodity Price Index, which is a weighted average of selected commodity prices, was recorded at 41.2 points in September 2015, which was 8.8 points lower than the previous month and 13.2 points lower than September 2014.

The above charts show the Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area. The index includes the price for homes that have sold but does not include the price of new home construction, condos, or homes that have been remodeled.

According to the index, the average price of single-family dwellings sold in Metro Detroit was $103,420 in July 2015. This was an increase of $7,370 from July of 2014 and an increase of $710 from June of 2015.