Miami-Dade jobless rate falls for sixth month and Broward leads state for growth

Miami-Dade County’s unemployment rate fell for the sixth straight month in July, while Broward clocked the highest year-over-year job growth rate in the state, according to a report released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Miami-Dade’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate hit 4.7 percent in July, down from 4.8 percent in June and 5.3 percent during the same period a year ago. But the jobless rate is still higher than in most Florida counties largely because of weakness in global markets. The county added 27,100 jobs since July 2016, up 2.4 percent.

Broward County’s jobless rate was 4.1 percent in July, the same as in June, but down from 4.8 percent a year ago. The county added 30,000 jobs, up 3.7 percent year-over-year, making it the state’s leader for job growth by percentage change, according to the monthly government report. Broward’s numbers are not adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations in the workforce.

Florida had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.1 percent unemployment in July, unchanged from June and below the national rate of 4.3 percent. The unemployment rate for Florida was 4.9 percent in July 2016.

In the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area, the construction sector grew the fastest, followed by education and healthcare services and tourism. All three clocked in over 5 percent year-over-year job growth. One of last year’s biggest challenges came in the late summer with the outbreak of Zika. The information sector, which includes technology, lost 400 jobs year over year, or just under 1 percent.

Year over year, the state added 226,200 jobs, an increase of 2.7 percent, much higher than the national average of 1.6 percent, and that growth was powered by the same sectors leading in South Florida. The year-over-year job growth rate in Florida has exceeded the nation’s rate since May 2012 and all 24 of the state’s metro areas recorded gains.

Last month, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area ranked No. 1 among the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the United States for wage growth, with a 3.9 percent growth rate year over year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index. But a deeper look into the numbers also revealed that the Miami area’s median wage was the lowest among the 15 metros.

Mekael Teshome, Florida economist for PNC Bank, said at the time that the report showed the area was beginning to return to pre-recession growth rates for wages, typically the last economic piece to recover. Still, the area’s median wage reflects the economy’s over-dependence on low-wage jobs, he said.

This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Miami-Dade jobless rate falls for sixth month and Broward leads state for growth."