Michigan's public school districts are government entities that occasionally use private contractors to provide them with support services. The 2018 privatization survey found that 70.5 percent of Michigan's school districts -- 380 of the 539 districts in the state -- contract out for food, custodial or transportation services. This is a slight decline from 2017, when the number was 71.1 percent. This is the fourth consecutive year in which roughly 70 percent of districts contracted out at least one of these three services. A dozen districts started a contract for one or more services and 15 districts brought a service back in house between the 2017 survey and the 2018 survey. It is not clear why privatization has been stuck at 70 percent recently. Districts officials reported that finding staff, whether directly or through contracting, has been a challenge. This may because of the tightening labor market. The state's unemployment rate declined from 14.6 percent at the height of the Great Recession to the current 4.0 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In a tight labor market, employers have a hard time filling low-wage jobs, such as those in school support services. [For "Michigan School Privatization Survey 2017. A Mackinac Center Report," see ED603606.]