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(Miami, Fl) April 20, 2020 – Every year, the March Employment Report detailing the unemployment rate is released in April. As of this analysis, the data does not yet reflect the full impact of the economic reality the world is presently facing due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. April data, which we expect will more accurately reflect the impact on our local economy, will be released later in May 2020.
The numbers analyzed
In March 2020, Miami-Dade County unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) has risen to 3.7 percent. The County created 12,300 new nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted), from March 2019 to March 2020 which was a 1.0 percent increase.
The highest job creation occurred in Education & Health Services (5,500) with most gains in the health industry, Retail Trade (3,200), Professional & Business Services (2,900), Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities (2,100), Total Government (1,000), and Information (800). The graph below shows the payroll data since March 2018.
| Sector | March 2019- March 2020 | February 2020 – March 2020 |
| Education & Health Services | +5,500 (+2.9%) | +2,300 (+1.2%) |
| Retail Trade | +3,200 (+2.2%) | +600 (+0.4%) |
| Professional & Business Services | +2,900 (+1.6%) | +300 (0.2%) |
| Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities | +2,100 (+2.5%) | -100 (-0.1%) |
| Total Government | +1,000 (+0.7%) | +2,000 (+1.4%) |
| Information | +800 (+3.9%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Other Services | +300 (+0.6%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Financial Activities | 0 (0.0%) | +100 (0.1%) |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 0 (0.0%) | -2,000 (-1.3%) |
| Wholesale Trade | -900 (-1.2%) | +600 (+0.8%) |
| Construction | -1,300 (-2.4%) | -200 (-0.4%) |
| Manufacturing | -1,400 (-3.3%) | -100 (-0.2%) |
The unemployment rate of 3.7 percent compared to last year was 0.9 percentage point higher than the unemployment rate at 2.8 percent in March 2019. Compared to February 2019 there was a 2.2 percentage point increase from the unemployment rate at 1.5 percent. Below the graph compares the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County with that of the United States since March 2018. It shows that Miami-Dade County was tracking the unemployment rate of the United States at a slightly higher rate until November 2018. For the last seventeen months the United States had a higher unemployment rate than Miami-Dade County.
In March 2020, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 3.8 percent, which is 1.0 percentage point higher than in March 2019.
| March 2020 Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted) |
March 2019 to March 2020 Unemployment Rate Change (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | |
| Miami-Dade County | 3.7% | +0.9% |
| Palm Beach County | 4.4% | +1.1% |
| Broward County | 3.7% | +0.9% |
| Florida | 4.3% | +1.1% |
| United States | 4.5% | +0.6% |
From the data and analysis above, we saw improvement in the local economy for the month of March 2020. Nevertheless, the community needs to remain focused on job-creation projects in targeted industries. 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. The Miami-Dade 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.
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 addition, the federal government typically conducts interviews in sample households to determine the unemployment rate. Miami-Dade County is one of six metropolitan areas in the United States that uses a different method solely based on a statistical model derived from several data sets.
