Auto sales pushed Michigans (STOMI1) (STOMI1) economy in January to its highest level in six years, according to Comerica Banks monthly economic activity index. Michigans index rose to 98 from Decembers 91, the best improvement among the five states Dallas-based Comerica monitors, said chief economist Robert Dye. The others are California, Texas, Florida and Arizona.
Car sales may continue to fuel the upswing. A huge pent-up demand for new vehicles pushed February sales to a level that implies an annual rate of 15.1 million vehicles, Dye said. Thats up from 13.5 million in December.
Michigans February unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent, the first time its fallen been below 9 percent since September 2008, Dye said. The U.S. unemployment rate in February was 8.3 percent.
He said manufacturing, led by the auto industry, is fueling a national recovery.
Were starting to see an economy thats moving past the faltering recovery weve had the last couple years, Dye said in a telephone interview from Dallas. I hope by the end of 2012 there will be a strong consensus that were in a self- sustaining economic expansion.
Michigan added 62,000 jobs since February 2011, a 1.5 percent increase, according to the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
It showed the second-best economic recovery among states, behind North Dakota, by the third quarter of 2011, according to the Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index.