Good time to find a job? Unemployment dips in Florida, Miami-Dade and Broward

Miami-Dade County’s unemployment rate fell for the seventh straight month in August but continues to lag its immediate neighbor to the north and Florida as a whole, according to a monthly report released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

The county’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 4.6 percent, a slight improvement over the 4.7 percent rate in July. But it represents a significant improvement compared to August 2016, when Miami-Dade’s unemployment sat at 5.4 percent. That drop represents a gain of 55,373 jobs in 12 months.

Broward County’s unemployment rate dipped in August, to 3.9 percent, after holding steady from June to July at 4.1 percent. Broward has seen a gain of 28,733 jobs year to year. The county’s numbers are not adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations in the workforce.

Florida also continued a solid jobs performance in August as the state jobless rate dipped again. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from July 2017, and down 0.9 percentage points from a year ago. That compares to a 4.4 percent U.S. jobless rate.

The total number of jobs in Florida sat at 8,649,900 in August, a gain of 221,400 jobs compared to the same month last year. The number of jobless Floridians was at 408,000.

Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate, at 2.7 percent, but that is likely to change after the island chain was clobbered by Hurricane Irma this week.

This story was originally published September 15, 2017 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Good time to find a job? Unemployment dips in Florida, Miami-Dade and Broward."