Job market heating up in Oakland County

Oakland County saw record job growth and labor force activity between April and May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The county's labor force expanded by 13,461 participants between April and May, the largest single-month increase since June of 1992. In addition, the number of employed residents grew by 10,496--the greatest single-month increase since January of 1990 when the BLS first recorded county-level data. "This kind of growth reflects Oakland County's robust efforts to attract sustainable, high-paying jobs in the knowledge-based economy through our Emerging Sectors program," County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "We've just surpassed the $2.5 billion investment mark--that's 238 Emerging Sectors companies creating or retaining more than 42,000 jobs." Earlier this year, University of Michigan economists George Fulton and Don Grimes forecasted much of Oakland County's job growth would be in the high-wage category. The county's Emerging Sectors initiative is responsible for attracting sustainable, high-paying jobs in the knowledge-based economy. The BLS also reported that the county's average monthly jobs for 2012 were 660,327--up 24,773 jobs from 2011. To learn more about Emerging Sectors and other business and job opportunities in Oakland County, go to AdvantageOakland.com. Published: Wed, Jul 10, 2013