Michigan, in January, gained some jobs

Michigan, which the U.S. Department of Labor lists as having a 14.3 percent unemployment rate, added 11,000 jobs December to January, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.

"It's small on a percentage basis, but the slight drop ... was due to the small gain in the number of people employed and the small drop in the number of unemployed," said Bruce Weaver, an economic analyst with the state.

By contrast, the state lost 40,000 jobs in the first month of 2009. In total, 600,000 fewer were employed in January in Michigan than five years ago, when 4.7 million were employed in the state.

The last month Michigan added jobs was November 2007, when it added 1,000 positions, but that month was an anomaly. The last significant swing upward in jobs was in January 2005 during a housing boom, the News said.

The biggest jump in January was an increase of 10,000 manufacturing jobs, Weaver said.

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