First, I want to thank Oakland Community College for inviting me as their guest to the annual Oakland County Economic Outlook Luncheon last Thursday, April 27th.  I have attended this event annually for a number of years and very much appreciate the level of information delivered by economists from the University of Michigan.  Without going into great detail, there are two specific pieces of information that are among the greatest takeaways from the presentation.  First, the unemployment rate is very low in Oakland County and hovering just above 4%.  Of course, that is good news.  However, this also means there are very few people available for the thousands of jobs that need to be filled throughout the county.  It also appears that steady job growth will continue in the county as we look out through 2019, with an expected stable and relatively modest inflation rate and an auto industry that appears to maintain its market share in producing the world’s automobiles.  Congratulations to County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and his entire Team at Oakland County for what continues to be one of the best counties in the country in which to live, work, and play.  Auburn Hills is honored to be among one of the many communities that make up this great county!

Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the Summary Report of the 32nd Economic Outlook can do so by contacting my office.  We’ll be happy to send you a scanned copy.

Tom Tanghe, City Manager