The numbers analyzed
In January 2021, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Miami-Dade County was 8.1 percent. The County had a reduction of 107,600 nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted), from January 2020 to January 2021 which was an 8.8 percentage point decrease. From December 2020 to January 2021, there was a decrease of 16,300 nonagricultural payroll jobs, which is a 1.4 percentage point decrease.
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 (January 2020 with January 2021). This is in particularly true when comparing the three months leading up to the COVID-19 crisis to January 2021. Miami-Dade County saw one of the largest. Year over year, every sector saw a decrease in the number of non-agricultural payroll jobs. The graph below shows the payroll data since November 2018.
From January 2020 to January 2021 there was a reduction of 107,600 non-agricultural payroll jobs. From December 2020 to January 2021 there was an decrease of 16,300 non-agricultural payroll jobs.
The change in non-agricultural payroll job between December 2020 and January 2021 shows that only two sectors have added jobs. These sectors include Construction (+500) and Wholesale Trade (+600).
| Sector | January 2020- January 2021 | December 2020 – January 2021 |
| Manufacturing | -1,600 (-3.8%) | -1,600 (-3.8%) |
| Construction | -1,800 (-3.4%) | +500 (+1.0%) |
| Information | -2,100 (-10.3%) | -200 (-1.1%) |
| Financial Activities | -2,200 (-2.7%) | -2.200 (-2.7%) |
| Wholesale Trade | -4,500 (-6.1%) | +600 (+0.9%) |
| Other Services | -6,000 (-11.9%) | -200 (-0.4%) |
| Professional & Business Services | -6,300 (-3.4%) | -3,900 (-2.2%) |
| Total Government | -9,300 (-6.3%) | -100 (-0.1%) |
| Education & Health Services | -9,400 (-4.8%) | -2,300 (-1.2%) |
| Retail Trade | -10,700 (-7.4%) | -3,400 (-2.5%) |
| Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities | -11,200 (-12.6%) | -3,200 (-4.0%) |
| Leisure and Hospitality | -42,500 (-28.9%) | -300 (-0.3%) |
Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.1 percent in January 2021 compared to last year is 6.3 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate at 1.8 percent in January 2020. Compared to December 2020 there was a 0.2 percentage point increase from the unemployment rate at 7.9 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 December 2018.
| January 2021 Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | January 2020 toJanuary 2021 Unemployment Rate Change (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | |
| Miami-Dade County | 8.1% | +6.3% |
| Broward County | 5.3% | +1.9% |
| Palm Beach County | 4.8% | +2.2% |
| Florida | 5.3% | +1.9% |
| United States | 6.8% | +2.8% |
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
In January 2021, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 8.4 percent, which is 6.4 percentage points higher than in January 2020. The unemployment rate is 0.2 percentage points lower than in December 2020 when it was at 8.6 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.