serves five west-central Michigan counties — Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Newaygo and Osceola, providing services to businesses and individuals. It is a partnership of several non-profit, governmental and educational agencies, and accesses a multitude of publicly-funded programs. Our Mission: "To continually improve a Career Development System that produces a workforce with the required skills to attract and expand business and enhance our regional economy." Our Workforce Service Centers are where job seekers come to find work and employers come to find workers. We are a partnership of several non-profit, governmental and educational agencies, providing access to many publicly-funded programs. Our services include: An Environmental Scan is an early step in Strategic Planning for Workforce Development and Career Development. The following Scan looks at a large number of items including populations, labor force, existing programs in education and workforce development, and identifies trends that may be important to the area. (More...). We regularly post monthly unemployment rates for our five service-area counties – Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Newaygo, and Osceola – along with State figures, too. Yearly Unemployment rates are posted from 1991 to present. (More...) Copyright 2002, Michigan Works! West Central