LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Help wanted signs, staff shortages, closed businesses and limited hours are problems that Michiganders deal with every day and now there is data to back that up.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that there were 125,000 less payroll jobs in June 2022 than in February 2020 before Whitmer imposed her lockdowns on the state.

MORE NEWS: Know Your Rights? Saline Immigration Panel Loaded With Anti-ICE Sources.

In February 2020, Michigan’s workforce participation rate was 61.1% and it fell to 56.6% in April of the same year. It’s back up to 60.1% but still ranks 40th out of 50 states.

Currently, if you search for jobs in Michigan on the Indeed website, you will find 203,773 jobs available, many with high hourly rates and signing bonuses. Yet, short staffing still persists all over the state.

According to the Bureau’s 2020 Business Reporting Response Survey, 32% of Michigan businesses were forced to be in a government-mandated closure based on whether the Whitmer administration thought they were essential or not. The national rate was 19%.

In the same report, it said that 63% of employers told their employees not to work which was substantially higher than the national rate of 52%.

With a multitude of Executive Orders coming from the Whitmer administration, businesses were afraid to open their doors during the spring of 2020 because of the government’s heavy hand.

Business owners watched in fear as Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel pursued and targeted businesses who didn’t obey lockdown orders including 77-year-old barber Karl Manke in Owosso who stayed open to make a living and provide jobs for his employees. Nessel’s office pursued him and said “he’s not a hero to me.” She called
him the opposite of a patriot and said he was putting people’s lives in danger.

MORE NEWS: Consultant or Chairman? Dave Woodward’s Two Hats Draw Scrutiny.

Nessel also targeted Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria. Nessel had her arrested and taken from Holland to be put in the Ingham County Jail in Lansing. Nessel said she willfully violated Michigan food laws after her restaurant license was revoked and she remained open.

It remains to be seen if or when Michigan businesses will return to the staffing levels they need, and once had, before the Whitmer lockdowns took effect.