Will Jobs be a Deciding Factor for Macomb Voters in 2012?

When Macomb Township resident Richard G. Marcil casts his ballot next November, it will be in favor of the candidate with the strongest stand and plan for jobs.

"No other issue—not social security, family values, abortion, Iraq/Afghanistan, homeland security—even comes close to the significance of this issue," Marcil said.

With the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting the state's October 2011 unemployment rate at 10.6 percent, with little hope for significant job creation in the next year, Marcil has reason to argue that jobs "will be the key 2012 issue."

"The candidate who can best lay claim to a plan to keep and create jobs in Michigan will carry this state," he said.

Macomb Township resident Pasquale Cusumano agrees with Marcil's assessment. Right, left or center, Cusumano plans to cast his vote for the candidate with the best plan for bringing jobs back to the state and country.

"I like to listen to all the candidates' sides," Cusumano said. "I want to hear them say they will keep jobs here and create more in the U.S. Not outsourcing, but doing more here and not paying people to stay home."

Although the national unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percent, to 8.6 percent as of November 2011, it's been almost two years since the rate has remained consistently below 9 percent.

In Michigan, the unemployment rate declined 0.5 percent, to 10.6 percent as of October 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This rate is a full percentage point lower than the 2010 level.