The numbers analyzed
In June 2020, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Miami-Dade County was 11.5 percent. The County had a reduction of 73,800 nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted), from June 2019 to June 2020 which was a 6.1 percentage point decrease. However, from May 2020 to June 2020, there was an increase of 36,300 nonagricultural payroll jobs.
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 (June 2019 with June 2020). The sectors most affected are Leisure & Hospitality (-26,400), Education & Health Services (-11,500), Retail Trade (-11,200), Professional & Business Services (-9,300), Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (-6,000), Other Services (-4,700), and Manufacturing (-3,700). The sectors seeing some improvements in the past 12 months are Construction (+2,000), Financial Activities (+400), and Information (+100). The graph below shows the payroll data since June 2018.
From June 2019 to June 2020 there was a reduction of 73,600 non-agricultural payroll jobs. From May 2020 to June 2020 there was an increase of 36,300 non-agricultural payroll jobs.
The change in non-agricultural payroll jobs between May 2020 and June 2020 show that several sectors have begun adding jobs, including those sectors that were the hardest hit during the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Leisure & Hospitality (+24,200), Retail Trade (+7,400), Professional & Business Services (+4,600), Other Services (+3,000), and Manufacturing (+2,600).
| Sector | June 2019- June 2020 | May 2020 – June 2020 |
| Construction | +2,000 (+3.8%) | +1,000 (+1.8%) |
| Financial Activities | +400 (+0.5%) | +800 (+1.0%) |
| Information | +100 (+0.5%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Total Government | -800 (-0.6%) | -9,600 (-6.7%) |
| Wholesale Trade | -1,900 (-2.6%) | +900 (+1.3%) |
| Manufacturing | -3,700 (-8.7%) | +2,600 (+7.2%) |
| Other Services | -4,700 (-9.3%) | +3,000 (+7.0%) |
| Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities | -6,000 (-7.2%) | +600 (+0.8%) |
| Professional & Business Services | -9,300 (-5.1%) | +4,600 (+2.8%) |
| Retail Trade | -11,200 (-7.9%) | +7,400 (+6.0%) |
| Education & Health Services | -11,500 (-6.1%) | +800 (+0.5%) |
| Leisure and Hospitality | -26,400 (-18.3%) | +24,200 (+25.9%) |
Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 11.5 percent compared to last year was 9.0 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate at 2.5 percent in June 2019. Compared to May 2020 there was an 0.5 percentage point decrease from the unemployment rate at 12.0 percent. Below the graph compares the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County with that of the United States since June 2018. It shows that Miami-Dade County was tracking the unemployment rate of the United States at a slightly higher rate until November 2018 through May 2020. In June 2020, Miami-Dade County’s unemployment rate is 0.3 percentage points higher than the United States.
| June 2020 Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | June 2019 toJune 2020 Unemployment Rate Change (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | |
| Miami-Dade County | 11.5% | +9% |
| Palm Beach County | 10.4% | +6.9% |
| Broward County | 11.8% | +8.6% |
| Florida | 10.7% | +7.4% |
| United States | 11.2% | +7.4% |
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
In June 2020, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 11.2 percent, which is 8.8 percentage points higher than in June 2019. From June 2019 to June 2020 there was a reduction of 73,600 nonagricultural payroll jobs. From May 2020 to June 2020 there was an increase of 54,700 nonagricultural payroll jobs.
From the data and analysis above, we continue to observe the negative impact of COVID-19 in our local economy. Nevertheless, the community needs to remain focused on job-creation 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.