U.S. Census:
Michigan population dips under 10M
DETROIT, Dec. 25, 2009 (AP): Michigan’s overall population fell
below 10 million for the first time since 2000 and the state is
one of just three to lose residents, according to U.S. Census
Bureau estimates released Wednesday.
The estimate found the state lost 32,759 people between July 1,
2008 and July 1, 2009. It's the fourth consecutive annual
population loss for the manufacturing-dependent state that's
seen more than 500,000 residents leave since 2001.
The estimate puts Michigan's population at 9,969,727, down from
10,002,486 in 2008.
Maine and Rhode Island also lost population, but Michigan's loss
was the highest of the three.
Xuan Liu, data center manager of the Southeast Michigan Council
of Governments, told The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press in
stories published Wednesday that the manufacturing decline means
the state will continue to see job losses and people leaving.
``This is really driven by the economy, a recession in Michigan
that is more severe than the national average and longer,'' Liu
told the Free Press. ``We estimate the state is probably going
to lose nearly 20 percent of jobs from 2000 to 2010.''
The 2010 Census will determine Michigan's Congressional
redistricting and number of lawmakers. The losses also are felt
through falling local and tax revenue for cash-strapped coffers.
The downward trend concerns longtime Detroit-area demographer
Kurt Metzger, who analyzed the findings as director of Detroit
Area Community Information System.
The population loss ``demonstrates the drastic effects of our
continued economic tsunami,'' he said in an e-mail to The
Associated Press.
``The population continues to leave the state at unprecedented
numbers and the loss of the younger population, coupled with
demographic shifts in childbearing, has resulted in the lowest
number of births since World War II,'' he said.
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