The number of workers with jobs went up 34,000 last month, for a total of 4.6 million, according to statistics released yesterday by the Michigan Employment Security Agency. The size of the labor force also increased to 4.9 million.
Unemployment went up one-tenth of a percent to 4.9 percent, a rise that analysts called insignificant. The number is still below the national average, which was 5.4 percent in January.
According to the statement from MESA, the rise was caused by more workers entering the job market than new jobs being created.
"The economy has basically been moving along at almost the exactly same pace," said Malcolm Cohen, a researcher at the University of Michigan's Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations.
While the rise in numbers of jobs is a positive trend, some economists said it could cause a crisis because there are not enough workers left to do certain jobs.
"You're straining the labor market here in Michigan," said David Littmann, vice president and senior economist at Comerica Bank.
Even Gov. John Engler - whose joy at the record employment figures caused him to get caught up in the current Star Wars movie hype and proclaim "the force is with us" - conceded that a shortage of workers could be a problem.
"One of the great challenges in terms of construction for Detroit is where do the workers come from?" Engler said a news conference where he unveiled a new state-sponsored virtual college for automotive technical training, a move aimed at eliminating the skilled worker shortage.
Littmann pointed to the massive development projects in the planning stages in Detroit - such as casinos and stadiums - as situations where the worker shortage will be most acute.
"The problem with construction is ... for all intents and purposes you're out of labor," he said.
Cohen agreed that the job shortage could become critical.
"If the economy remains at this high level, we're going to continue to see shortages and they're going to continue to get worse," he said.
David Sowerby, chief economist at Beacon Investment Co. in Ann Arbor, said the potential shortfall is anything but bad news.
"It is true we may have some limitations in our qualified labor force," he said.
Drawing on the oft-quoted line from the film "Field of Dreams" in reference to Detroit's stadium projects, Sowerby said "if the jobs are there, they will come."
Littmann also said more people will migrate to the jobs, and wages will also go up because of the increased demand.
The growth that has fueled the job boom is spread across all sectors, the economists said.
Particular strength is coming from the business services and health care industries. That's because more businesses are outsourcing jobs, and the population continues to age, Littmann said.
Sowerby said the growth now being seen in the state is unprecedented for the last 30 to 35 years.
"We've kept this up, we've extended the winning streak when people thought the winning streak would end at four years," he said.