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.