The long, harsh winter slowed the state’s economic recovery.
And it took a bite out of tax revenues, leaving Governor Rick Snyder and the Legislature with less money to work with as they put the finishing touches on a new state budget.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta reports.
A budget conference looked at all kinds of factors affecting the state’s economy to come up with a new revenue forecast for lawmakers to use.
There are still a few variables that could affect the state’s short and long-term economic future. New home building is one. So is the auto industry.
George Fulton is a University of Michigan economist. He says a lot also depends on how the Detroit bankruptcy plays out.
“It’s still the major city in Michigan and in states, major cities and how they go is important to how the economy as a whole goes,” he says.
Fulton says, otherwise, Michigan seems to be on track for slow-but-steady growth, but the state is still a couple years away from having a jobless rate that’s on par with the national average.