Metro Detroit continues to add jobs at a 2 percent rate

Historically, Detroit loses jobs as auto sales erode

Diversification finally paying off in region

Historically, metro Detroit rises and falls with the car-buying whims of North Americans. We know too well what happens when people stop buying cars.

But new data suggests a disruption to the cyclical nature of the local economy is afoot; we're continuing to add jobs as car sales slow.

North American auto sales, minus imports, transitioned from 0.4 percent year-over-year growth in 2016 to a 2.3 percent decline year-to-date, while job growth in the region experienced a 2 percent annual increase, according to research by Jonathan Silberman, professor of economics at Oakland University and director of the Southeast Michigan Economic Data Center.

"Data from the Federal Reserve shows that the (metro) Detroit economy is more cyclical than any other of the 50 largest metros in the U.S. ... due to the cyclical nature of the auto industry and Detroit's reliance on it," Silberman said. "We're now seeing a break in that trend. Economies evolve and Detroit's is finally changing, and we're seeing the start of a noticeable change in the historic relationship with autos and jobs."