Although it’s not a guarantee, said economics professor Steven Haider, it’s still a prospective worker’s best bet, with just a four percent unemployment rate among bachelor’s degree holders.

The unemployment rate among high school dropouts is much higher, with a 16.7 percent unemployment rate from 2012 to 2013.

“Bottom line, you’re nearly five times more likely to be unemployed if you have less than a high school education vs. a bachelors degree of higher,” said Judy Putnam, communications director for the Michigan League for Public Policy.

A cloud of doubt still lingers over the state’s economic future.

In what at first seems like a paradox, unemployment has increased, but the number of jobs in the state also have jumped.

“Regardless of which survey you look at, there’s been some significant employment and job gains,” said Bruce Weaver, an economic analyst for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. “We’ve had quite a surge into the labor force.”

Between 2012 and 2013, roughly 68,000 new jobs were created, but business advocates said many employers are having a tough time filling vacant positions, complaining of a lack of highly skilled workers.

The discrepancy could be explained in part by the fact that more people now are looking for work, Weaver said.

A renewed and bolstered confidence as Michigan pulls itself out of the Great Recession might have led to a rekindling of economic hopes.

With prospects looking up, those who before might have felt too discouraged to look for work could be out actively seeking again. Weaver says this is common as economies stabilize.

But it’s hard to say if employers are being too picky when it comes to new hires, favoring already skilled workers and unwilling to train new employees on the spot, said Andrea Kerbuski, the Capital Area Michigan Works! chief communications officer.

Michigan Works! is an organization that trains employees for skilled positions throughout the state.

Kerbuski noted a definite “skills gap” in technical fields such as healthcare, information technology and manufacturing.

She said there are plenty of employers searching for workers, but not enough with the skills companies require.

It’s unclear if the unemployment rate can be explained by this trend alone.

The fact of the matter is “we’re coming out of a deep hole,” said Michael Rogers, vice president of communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan.

“Recession is sort of a hazy thing,” Haider said. “Michigan shed jobs every year from 1999 to 2009.”

Economic prospects didn’t improve with the rest of the country. Michigan’s hole seemed deeper, and crawling out took longer.

Even those with college degrees and with employable skills felt the sting.

Emerging from a recession that hit harder in Michigan than many other states is a slow and painful process, but Haider said there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.