Michigan fell the hardest during the recession, but it's bouncing back better than the rest of the country. While economic uncertainty in Europe is creating a cloud over the U.S. economy, and the state's unemployment rate has ticked up two-tenths of a percentage point to 8.6 percent in the past two months, existing home sales and retail sales in Michigan are doing better than elsewhere in the country. A Wayne State University and Institute of Supply Management survey of southeast Michigan purchasing managers this month found that more than three-quarters of respondents expect the business environment to remain stable or improve.