September 2020 Employment Report
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The numbers analyzed
In September 2020, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Miami-Dade County was 13.0 percent. The County had a reduction of 76,600 nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted), from September 2019 to September 2020 which was a 6.3 percentage point decrease. From August 2020 to September 2020, there was an increase of 7,900 nonagricultural payroll jobs, which is a 0.7 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 (September 2019 with September 2020). The sectors most affected are Leisure & Hospitality (-30,100), Education & Health Services (-11,000), Total Government (-10,500) Professional & Business Services (-6,900), Retail Trade (-6,400), Other Services (-4,800), Wholesale Trade (-3,700), and Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (-3,100). The sectors seeing some improvements in the past 12 months are Financial Activities (+1,200) and Construction (+100). The graph below shows the payroll data since September 2018.
From September 2019 to September 2020 there was a reduction of -76,600 non-agricultural payroll jobs. From August 2020 to September 2020 there was an increase of 7,900 non-agricultural payroll jobs.
The change in non-agricultural payroll jobs between August 2020 and September 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 (+3,700), Manufacturing (+2,200), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (+1,000), and Education and Health Services (+1,200).
| Sector | September 2019- September 2020 | August 2020 – September 2020 |
| Financial Activities | +1,200 (+1.5%) | +500 (+0.6%) |
| Construction | +100 (+0.2%) | -800 (-1.5%) |
| Information | -500 (-2.4%) | 0 (0%) |
| Manufacturing | -900 (-2.1%) | +2,200 (+5.6%) |
| Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities | -3,100 (-3.7%) | +1,000 (+1.3%) |
| Wholesale Trade | -3,700 (-5.0%) | -300 (-0.4%) |
| Other Services | -4,800 (-9.6%) | -500 (-1.1%) |
| Retail Trade | -6,400 (-4.5%) | +400 (+0.3%) |
| Professional & Business Services | -6,900 (-3.8%) | +800 (+0.5%) |
| Total Government | -10,500 (-7.2%) | -300 (-0.2%) |
| Education & Health Services | -11,000 (-5.7%) | +1,200 (+0.7%) |
| Leisure and Hospitality | -30,100 (-20.9%) | +3,700 (+3.4%) |
Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 13.0 percent compared to last year is 10.7 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate at 2.3 percent in September 2019. Compared to August 2020 there was a 5.0 percentage point increase from the unemployment rate at 8.0 percent. Below the graph compares the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County with that of the United States since September 2018. It shows that Miami-Dade County was tracking the unemployment rate of the United States at a slightly lower rate from November 2018 through May 2020, at which point the Miami-Dade County unemployment rate tracked higher due to our strong hospitality and tourism industry being impacted by COVID-19.
The Miami metro area labor force statistics are derived using a different model than all other counties in Florida. The primary inputs for the monthly employment and unemployment estimates come from Current Population Survey (CPS). There are only seven large substate areas across the nation that the labor force statistics are derived using this model. The decrease in the count of unemployed individuals in Miami-Dade County in August 2020 and the subsequent increase in September was driven by the responses of Miami residents to the Current Population Survey.
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| September 2020 Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | September 2019 to September 2020 |
| Miami-Dade County | 13.0% | +10.7% |
| Broward County | 8.2% | +5.4% |
| Palm Beach County | 7.0% | +3.8% |
| Florida | 7.6% | +4.7% |
| United States | 7.7% | +4.4% |
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
In September 2020, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 12.8 percent, which is 10.7 percentage points higher than in September 2019. The unemployment rate is 5.3 percentage points higher than in August 2020 when it was at 7.5 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.
