October 2020 Employment Report
The numbers analyzed
In October 2020, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Miami-Dade County was 8.8 percent. The County had a reduction of 74,900 nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted), from October 2019 to October 2020 which was a 6.1 percentage point decrease. From September 2020 to October 2020, there was an increase of 9,900 nonagricultural payroll jobs, which is a 0.9 percentage point increase.
Non-agricultural Payroll Jobs
Due to the impact of COVID-19, there continues to be a sharp decline in non-agricultural payroll jobs throughout most industries when comparing year over year (October 2019 with October 2020). The sectors most affected are Leisure & Hospitality (-26,900), Total Government (-13,200), Education & Health Services (-11,900), Professional & Business Services (-7,200), Retail Trade (-6,600), Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (-5,300), and Other Services (-4,700). The sectors seeing some improvements in the past 12 months are Construction (+1,400), Manufacturing (+1,100), and Financial Activities (+900). The graph below shows the payroll data since October 2018.
From October 2019 to October 2020 there was a reduction of 74,900 non-agricultural payroll jobs. From September 2020 to October 2020 there was an increase of 9,900 non-agricultural payroll jobs.
The change in non-agricultural payroll job between September 2020 and October 2020 shows that several sectors have added jobs, including in sectors that were the hardest hit during the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. These sectors include Leisure and Hospitality (+3,400), Retail (+2,300), Education and Health Services (+1,800) Manufacturing (+1,200), and Wholesale Trade (+1,000)
Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.9 percent compared to last year is 6.9 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate at 2.0 percent in October 2019. Compared to September 2020 there was a 3.6 percentage point decrease from the unemployment rate at 12.5 percent.
Additionally, analyzing Miami’s unemployment history in the graph below, the Miami metro area labor force statistics use a different measurement method than all other counties in Florida. The information for the monthly employment and unemployment estimates come from Current Population Survey (CPS). There are only seven large areas across the nation which uses this labor force statistics model. The increase in the count of unemployed individuals in Miami-Dade County in September 2020 and the subsequent decrease in October was driven by the responses of Miami residents to the Current Population Survey. The graph compares the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County with that of the United States since October 2018.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
In October 2020, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 8.8 percent, which is 6.8 percentage points higher than in October 2019. The unemployment rate is 3.8 percentage points lower than in September 2020 when it was at 12.6 percent.
From the data and analysis above, we continued to observe the negative impact of COVID-19 on our local economy. Nevertheless, the community needs to remain focused on job-retention projects in targeted industries, as well as all sectors. 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.
