DETROIT (AP) — Michigan has lost 34 percent of its auto jobs in the past five years but remains the national center for the car industry, while Ohio was No. 2 in auto employment this year at 109,200, down 18 percent from 133,700 five years ago, the U.S Labor Department said.
Michigan had 181,100 people employed making vehicles or vehicle parts in August, down from 275,200 in August 2002, the federal agency said.
Alabama's auto employment rose 69 percent in the same period to 30,100. The state had no auto assembly plants before 1997 but now is home to Germany's Daimler AG, Japan's Honda Motor Co. and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co.
Ohio was followed by Indiana at 81,900 (down 15 percent from 96,300); Kentucky, 47,600 (down 7 percent from 51,300); Tennessee, 35,900 (up 5 percent from 34,120); Alabama (up from 17,800); and California, 27,900 (down 15 percent from 33,000).
The main reasons for Michigan's auto job loss are parts outsourcing and greater efficiency by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC; and market share gains by non-U.S. companies, Miami University geographer James Rubenstein told the Detroit Free Press.
