University of Michigan economists predict the state's labor market will lose 310,700 jobs in 2009, a sharp increase over a previous prediction.

In November, predicted job losses numbered 108,000, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday.

Shaken by a prolonged slump in the automobile industry, unemployment in Michigan is already the highest in the United States at 14.1 percent.

By the end of the decade, Michigan could lose 950,000 jobs or 20 percent of its labor market, the newspaper said.

Michigan University economist George Fulton said, "a better year is anticipated for 2010, but still not a very good one."