Whitmer blames DC Republicans for state’s economic woes

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, now in her seventh year in office, is blaming Republican leaders in the nation’s capital for her state’s economic troubles.

“With Republicans in Washington creating more economic uncertainty, good-paying jobs are on the chopping block,” Whitmer tweeted Aug. 6. “That’s why we need to keep fixing the damn roads and supporting tens of thousands of good-paying jobs here in Michigan. Let’s get it done.”

When Whitmer took office in January 2019, Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, slightly above the national average of 4.0%, as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As July 2025, those number were 5.3% and 4.2.%, respectively.

Michigan had the 14th-highest unemployment rate in the nation as of December 2018, the month before Whitmer took office, according to James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan now has the third-highest rate among the 50 states.

Michigan’s lawmakers approved $4.7 billion in corporate subsidies in the last legislative term, the highest level of corporate welfare spending since 2008, said Hohman, who recently conducted a longtitudinal study that found subsidies rarely deliver on their promises of economic growth.

Another factor that could be affecting Michigan’s economy is the February 2024 repeal of the state’s right-to-work law. States with right-to-work policies had significantly stronger manufacturing sectors than those without, according to a 2022 Mackinac Center report. Manufacturing’s share of employment was 12.1% higher in states that adopted before 2000 and 20.7% higher in those adopting it afterward.