Report: Michigan mobility jobs grow as traditional auto employment falls

• A new report says Michigan’s mobility industry is worth $348 billion in economic activity
• The data shows a broader view of the automotive industry’s impact in the state 
• The report offers policymakers insight into related sectors that could be targeted for job growth

Michigan’s mobility industry is worth $348 billion to the state and growing, even as auto jobs decline,  according to a new report. 

Michigan automotive jobs dropped to 288,000 from 291,000 from 2019 to 2022, but the overall mobility industry now directly employs more than 631,000 workers, according to the 2024 Mobility Economic Contribution report by MichAuto, the state’s auto industry advocacy organization.

Michigan tends to define auto jobs narrowly as manufacturing, but “we really need to understand how fast this world is changing,” Glenn Stevens, executive director of MichAuto,  told Bridge. 

“The mobility and auto industry in Michigan is growing, but it's growing in a very different way than it's ever grown before,” Stevens said. 

Along with traditional autos, the mobility industry includes automotive technology, connected and automated vehicles, electrification, infrastructure, transportation and research and development. 

The industry also supports an additional 525,000 indirect and induced jobs. All told, that’s about 1 in 5 jobs in the state.

The MichAuto report used federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data to show that traditional motor vehicle manufacturing jobs grew 19% from 2019 to 2022, going from 36,987 to 43,984. 

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However, that gain was offset by a decline in motor vehicle parts manufacturing jobs, which fell 7%, going from 128,701 jobs to 119,812. 

Still, overall mobility remains dominant in the state’s economy, the report done by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants shows. 

The study also dives into less obvious mobility employment, such as telecommunication services and insurance, which are not prominently discussed as core to the mobility industry. 

“Inclusion of those less apparent but relevant sectors is essential to capturing a more comprehensive view of the industry’s contributions,” the report said.

And understanding the types of jobs that would make Michigan a mobility cluster — with high-value jobs and more corporate investment — can help to retain and grow the emerging segments of the industry, the report added. 

“As demand for electric and autonomous vehicles, public transportation, infrastructure, and logistics solutions grows, so does the potential for job creation across sectors such as manufacturing, engineering, and software development,” the report said. 

Michigan has touted its ability to attract mobility jobs during the administration of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Over $2 billion in economic subsidies have been offered to companies making electric vehicles, EV components, energy storage and semiconductors, among others. 

Policy direction also is offered by the new Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, which outlines state priorities for creating jobs and “actions to ensure Michigan continues to be an epicenter of future solutions around mobility and electrification.”

Tying all of that to Michigan’s robust auto industry through the industries added to the new report means “that everybody can understand how large and how big it contributes from a direct employment and indirect employment, a compensation, a tax benefit,” Stevens said.

Vehicles have changed dramatically over the past decade, from digitization to electrification. More change is expected. 

“We need to keep moving with where the industry is going, and trying to stay ahead of it, as opposed to what we've done in the past,” Stevens said. “Being a victim of that change.”

“For us to have a supply chain and industry that is evolving with the vehicle is a really good thing for Michigan.”