Automotive layoffs accounted for 39,000 of the 84,000 total jobs lost last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, helping push the nation’s unemployment rate to a five-year high of 6.1% for the month.

Shifting consumer preferences away from SUVs and increasing foreign competition have severely impacted the automotive market. The state of Michigan has been especially affected.

Rick Waclawek of the state’s Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives said that between 2002 and 2007, Michigan lost 117,000, or 21%, of its automotive-related jobs. The lost automotive jobs accounted for nearly half of the about 243,000 total jobs the state lost during that period.

“Historically, Michigan has always been the bellwether,” Waclawek said. “When economic times get tough, purchases of big ticket items like cars go down, and Michigan feels it first.”

Ford and General Motors both have plans to let go of thousands of workers.

Click here for more information on automotive jobs in your area.

Add To Favorites

Email To Friend

Back To Archives

Testimonial of the Week

I was very pleased with the AutomotiveCrossing. I found a great position within a short amount of time … I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a better opportunity.

Jose M Santa Cruz, CA

+ Read More Testimonial

Only AutomotiveCrossing consolidates every job it can find in the domain and puts all of the job listings it locates in one place.

We have more jobs than any other job board.
We list jobs you will not find elsewhere that are hidden in small regional publications and employer websites
We collect jobs from more than 4,429,376 websites and post them on our site.
We are private, and therefore far fewer people are applying for the jobs on our site than are applying for those on public job boards.