Kalamazoo County, MI jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Kalamazoo County’s unemployment rate is 4.0%. Employers filed 1 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 79 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Kalamazoo County economy

4.0%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.2% the month before
127,605
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
261,437
people in Kalamazoo County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$70,525
median household income
Source: Census ACS
43%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Kalamazoo County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs up 1.4% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 0.8% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 4.0%, down 0.2 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+994 jobs), other services (+604 jobs)
Sectors losing the most jobs: finance & insurance (−608 jobs), real estate (−601 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Kalamazoo County. Each link goes to the publisher.

‘You can only spend so much’: Kalamazoo-area restaurant says legal fight could force closuremlive · Oct 30, 2026

Learn and get funded in Kalamazoo County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Kalamazoo County layoffs

1
Layoff notices, last 12 months
160
workers named
A floor: states may leave out counts
1
employer

Layoff notices filed in Kalamazoo County, newest first
Notice date	Employer	City or county	Workers	Type	Source
Feb 13, 2026	Grouper Acquisition Company, Inc.Takes effect Mar 31, 2026	Kalamazoo County	160	Company closure	State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Kalamazoo County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Re Build Manufacturing9 open roles
Sinclair6 open roles
UHY4 open roles
Cummins3 open roles
Powerx3 open roles
Creative Financial Staffing2 open roles
Matlen Silver2 open roles
Optimal Care2 open roles
Western Michigan University2 open roles
ABM Industries1 open role

Largest employers headquartered in Kalamazoo County

Kalamazoo College1,001–5,000 employees

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Colleges in Kalamazoo County

Colleges in Kalamazoo County
College	City	Type	Students
Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo	Public 4-year	10,000–19,999
Kalamazoo College	Kalamazoo	Private non-profit 4-year	1,000–4,999
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine	Kalamazoo	Private non-profit 4-year	Under 1,000

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Kalamazoo County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Michigan? How to file for unemployment in Michigan (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Michigan Works! Southwest Workforce Development Board
Branch, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph

Michigan Works! Southwest Service Center - Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo · Comprehensive · 269-383-2536
Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

Cities in Kalamazoo County

Other Michigan counties

All of Michigan

Laid off or looking for work in Kalamazoo County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Michigan’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Michigan unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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