October 2019 Employment Report
In October 2019, Miami-Dade County had the highest number of non-agricultural payroll jobs in county history at 1,233,700.
The numbers analyzed
In October 2019, Miami-Dade County area was the third largest metro area in year-over-the-year job gains in Florida, following Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford and the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater areas. The County created 23,600 new nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted), from October 2018 to October 2019 which was a 2.0 percent increase. The highest job creation occurred in Education & Health Services (9,900), with most jobs created in the healthcare industry. Job creation also occurred in Professional & Business Services (5,400), Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities (5,000), Leisure and Hospitality (3,100), Construction (1,700), Total Government (1,000), Wholesale Trade (600), and Other Services (600). The graph below shows the payroll data since October 2017.
| Sector | October 2018- October 2019 | September 2019 – October 2019 |
| Education & Health Services | +9,900 (+5.2%) | +2,000 (+1.0%) |
| Professional & Business Services | +5,400 (+3.0%) | 700 (+0.4%) |
| Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities | +5,000 (+6.5%) | +2,200 (+2.7%) |
| Leisure and Hospitality | +3,100 (+2.2%) | +1,400 (+1.0%) |
| Construction | +1,700 (+3.2%) | -900 (-1.6%) |
| Total Government | +1,000 (+0.7%) | +1,800 (+1.3%) |
| Wholesale Trade | +600 (+0.8%) | -900 (-1.2%) |
| Other Services | +600 (+1.1%) | -400 (-0.7%) |
| Information | -200 (-1.0%) | +100 (+0.5%) |
| Financial Activities | -900 (-1.1%) | +400 (+0.5%) |
| Retail Trade | -600 (-0.4%) | +2,700 (+1.9%) |
| Manufacturing | -2,000 (-4.7%) | -500 (-1.2%) |
The not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County was 2.9 percent in October 2019. Compared to last year October there was a 0.7 percentage point decrease from the unemployment rate at 3.6 percent. Compared to September 2019 there was a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the unemployment rate at 3.1 percent. Below the graph compares the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County with that of the United States since October 2017. 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 twelve months the United States had a higher unemployment rate than Miami-Dade County.
In October 2019, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 3.1 percent, which is 0.4 percentage point lower than in October 2018.
| October 2019 Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | October 2018 to October 2019 | |
| Miami-Dade County | 2.9% | -0.7% |
| Palm Beach County | 3.0% | -0.4% |
| Broward County | 2.8% | -0.3% |
| Florida | 2.9% | -0.4% |
| United States | 3.3% | -0.2% |
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 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.
