Friday, Mar 8, 2013
Led by a strong recovery in manufacturing and supported by policymakers’ actions to responsibly manage our finances, balance the budget and improve the business climate, Michigan’s economy is starting to turnaround. During the past two years, Michigan’s job, economic and personal income growth was in the Top Ten. But to really become a Top Ten state, not just grow like one, we need to create a lot more high-paying jobs. We recognize that creating a better place to grow jobs is important, but not enough to become an economic leader. We must do more of what we do best – and do it far better than other places…to reach our Top Ten goal.
That’s why we released our New Michigan economic strategy last year. It identified six Michigan assets that, if better leveraged, can create enough jobs over the decade to reach our Top Ten goal. They include our engineering talent, automotive industry, natural resources, health & medical expertise, higher education system and geographic location.
This month, we’ll hold our first annual New Michigan Summit to update stakeholder groups on the progress our state is making to leverage these assets and issue a report to help policymakers and the public understand where we stand and how much work remains. A prosperous, thriving New Michigan is within our sights if we take better advantage of what makes our state so special.