THE TALENT LANDSCAPE
THE TALENT LANDSCAPE IN GREATER GRAND RAPIDS (GGR) 1,183,645 621,936 4.3% $33.18 POPULATION IN 2025 ¹ LABOR FORCE IN DECEMBER 2025 ² UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN JANUARY 2026 ³ AVERAGE HOURLY WAGE IN JANUARY 2026 ⁴
Notes on the Data: This report uses the Grand Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area (including Kent, Ottawa, Montcalm, Ionia, and Barry counties) as its primary geography unless otherwise noted. The Right Place’s retention call data encompasses seven counties (Kent, Ionia, Montcalm, Newaygo, Lake, Oceana, and Mason counties). October 2025 data is missing in some cases due to a federal government shutdown during that time. For annual data missing October numbers, this report calculates averages over an 11-month period. The methodology to analyze job posting data for AI references has shifted to account for the substantial increase in companies including AI-processing disclaimers in job postings. The new methodology relies on a bucket of AI-related skills instead of the keywords “artificial intelligence” and “AI.” The content of this report reflects the most recent data at time of publication.
1 - Source: U.S. Census Bureau (Population Estimates Program) 2 - Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, (Civilian Labor Force, Smoothed Seasonally Adjusted) 3 - Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Unemployment Rate, Smoothed Seasonally Adjusted) 4 - Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Average Hourly Earnings, Not Seasonally Adjusted)
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