Some contradictory news emerged on the Michigan economy today.

The state’s economy is recovering from the Great Recession at the second-fastest pace of any state in the country, according to a Bloomberg index that measures the pace of state growth. Only North Dakota outpaced Michigan, which was led by the resurgence of Detroit’s automakers and local manufacturing.

Seventy percent of Michigan employers said they expected the state’s economic outlook would improve over the next 18 months, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, which first reported the results. But the financial magazine also said the improvement reflects the severity of Michigan’s decline – it ranked last in the index through 2010.

Michigan still has formidable challenges ahead. Elsewhere, a report released today by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that it ranks as the fourth-highest state or district in number of layoffs to date in 2011. The report said that 29,312 Michigan employees have been laid off so far this year.

Only Washington D.C. (83.494), California (56,189) and North Carolina (54,387) saw worse numbers.

Nonetheless, Patrick Anderson, chief executive officer at Anderson Economic Group LLC in East Lansing, Mich., tells Businessweek, “I sense a very cautious optimism in my home state. … Michigan is emerging from, basically, a lost decade.”