LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed that May 1-7 will be Small Business Week in Michigan.
The goal of the week is to celebrate small businesses and encourage people in Michigan to shop locally. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses comprise more than 98% of Michigan businesses. They also employ half of the workers who live in Michigan. Another study by the Michigan Retailers Association said that one in five Michigan jobs are in the retail industry.
“Happy Small Business Week! Small businesses are anchors of our communities – they create jobs, build more vibrant cities and towns, and generate prosperity for Michiganders in every region of our great state,” said Governor Whitmer. “Michigan’s small businesses are tough. They have been resilient and strong over the last couple of years and we should come together to celebrate them and their invaluable contributions to our state by shopping local not only this week, but every week. I will work with anyone to ensure that small businesses have the resources they need to succeed. Right now, our unemployment rate is 4.4% and we’ve added 174,000 year over year. Let’s keep working together to grow Michigan’s economy, create more good-paying jobs, and invest in small businesses in every country.”
