• From November 2015 to December 2015, the unemployment rate across the state remained stable and the city of Detroit’s increased (monthly);
• The Purchasing Manager’s Index for Southeast Michigan decreased from November 2015 to December 2015 (monthly);
• Commodity Price Index increased from November 2015 to December 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 $6,800 higher than in December of 2014.

According to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, the unemployment rate for the State of Michigan remained constant at 4.5 percent between November and December of 2015. During this same period, unemployment in the City of Detroit increased from 10.6 percent in November to 10.9 percent in December.

Since March of 2015 the number of people employed in the city of Detroit increased by 4,895, for a total of 214,282 people employed in the city in December of 2015. In the last year, the month of March had the lowest number of people employed in Detroit. Employment went down slightly in December.

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 January 2015 to December 2015. In that time frame the number of people employed in this industry increased by 1,100, from 104,900 to 106,000.

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 Manager’s Index, the PMI for December 2015 was 54.8, an decrease of 2.3 point from the prior month. It was also a decrease of 9.4 from December of 2014.

The Commodity Price Index, which is a weighted average of selected commodity prices, was recorded at 47.2 points in December 2015, which was 1.7 points higher than the previous month and 7 points lower than December 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 $103,770 in December 2015. This was an increase of $6,800 from December of 2014. Note also that there were continuing increases at the end of 2015.