Miami-Dade County shows second-largest year-over-year employment gain in state

For Immediate Release Media Contact: Maria Camacho mcamacho@beaconcouncil.com (305) 579-1341   Miami-Dade County shows second-largest  year-over-year employment gain in state  (Miami, FL - March 17, 2014) - Miami-Dade County had the second largest year-over-year employment gain in Florida after Orlando, according to the latest statistics released Monday. "We continue to focus on long-term employment gains in Miami-Dade County," The Beacon Council President & CEO Larry K. Williams said. "Across the board, nearly every industry gained jobs from last year." The numbers analyzed The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate from January 2013 to January 2014 decreased by 2.6 percentage points, to 6.9 percent from 9.5 percent. And, the not seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate from December 2013 to January 2014 increased by 0.1 percentage points, to 6.9 percent from 6.8 percent. This slight increase can be partly attributed to a growth in the labor force and the number of unemployed people.  In addition to the decrease in year-over-year unemployment rate, Miami-Dade County added 30,500 new nonagricultural payroll jobs or a 2.9 percent increase from January 2013 to January 2014. In January 2014, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking into consideration seasonal fluctuations in the labor force) was 7.1 percent, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than December 2013 and 2.4 percentage points lower than a year ago (January 2013). The job creation numbers are derived from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics Program (CES), and only account for non-farm payroll jobs. However, the unemployment rates are derived from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program (LAUS), which includes farm payroll jobs as well as self-employed workers. In Miami-Dade County from January 2013 to January 2014 every major industry sector except Government saw job improvements. The improvements in these sectors contributed to the gain of 30,500 new nonagricultural payroll jobs. Notably, Construction, Manufacturing, Financial Activities, and Professional and Business Services all experienced significant gains after having lost a large portion of their workforce during the recession. Government was the only sectors that lost jobs between January 2013 and January 2014 (-1,500 jobs). Sector January 2013 - January 2014 Job Change (% Change) Retail Trade                          7,900 (+5.8%) Professional and Business Services                         5,800 (+4.0%) Leisure and Hospitality                         3,900 (+3.2%) Construction                         2,400 (+7.6%) Ambulatory Health Care Services                         2,200 (+4.0%) Financial Activities                         2,200 (+3.1%) Hospitals                         2,100 (+4.7%) Manufacturing                         2,100 (+6.0%) Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities                         2,000 (+3.2%) Wholesale Trade                            400 (+0.6%) Telecommunications                            100 (+0.6%) Between December 2013 and January 2014, 17,000 nonagricultural payroll jobs were lost or a 1.6 percent decrease. The manufacturing sector added jobs. A number of sectors lost jobs between December 2013 and January 2014. Much of this decrease can be attributed to seasonally fluctuations. These industries include: Retail Trade (-5,600 jobs), Total Government (-2,200 jobs); Leisure and Hospitality (-1,800 jobs); Financial Activities (-1,200 jobs); Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (-1,200 jobs); Construction (-1,100 jobs), Professional and Business Services (-800 jobs); Wholesale Trade (-600 jobs); Ambulatory Health Care Services (-300 jobs); and Telecommunications (-300 jobs). Sector December 2013 - January 2014 Job Change (% Change) Manufacturing                            100 (+0.3%) The not-seasonally adjusted January 2014 unemployment rate for the State of Florida was 6.3 percent, an increase compared to December 2013 (5.9 percent). However, Florida's unemployment rate decreased by 2.1 percentage points from January 2013 to January 2014 (8.4 percent to 6.3 percent). The United States not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.0 percent in January 2014, compared to 6.5 percent in December 2013. For Broward County, the unemployment rate in January 2014 was 5.3 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from December 2013 and a decrease of 1.8 percentage points compared to January 2013. For Palm Beach County, the January unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to December 2013 and a decrease of 2.0 percentage points compared to January 2013. The overall unemployment rate for the South Florida region (Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach MSA) in January 2014 was 6.2 percent, compared to 6.0 percent in December 2013. A year ago, in January 2013, the South Florida unemployment rate was 8.4 percent. In terms of job creation in South Florida, the region gained 68,700 jobs or a 3.0 percent increase from January 2013 to January 2014. From December 2013 to January 2014, however, South Florida lost 31,900 nonagricultural payroll jobs, which represents a 1.3 percent decrease. Again, much of this decrease can be attributed to seasonal fluctuations. From the data and analysis above, we see continued improvement in the local economy.  Nevertheless, the community needs to remain focused on job-creation projects in the target industries outlined in The Beacon Council Foundation's One Community One Goal (OCOG) initiative. These industries have been identified as the Miami-Dade County industries most able to create additional well-paying job opportunities, leading to an improved quality of life for Miami-Dade County residents. For more information, go to www.onecommunityonegoal.com. The Beacon Council continues to aggressively work on attracting new companies to our community and work on the expansion and retention of existing business. For more information, visit www.beaconcouncil.com.