Nearly 7,000 Jobs In Miami-Dade Disappear In February
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent for the month of February according to new numbers released from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The 7.7 percent rate was down 0.2 percent from the revised January number of 7.9 percent and was a 1.3 percentage point drop from one year ago. The numbers translated to 729,000 Floridians without a job out of a labor force of 9,427,000.
In Broward County, the unemployment rate in February continued to plummet, dropping to 6.2 percent from a revised January rate of 6.7 percent. Broward's unemployment rate was also a 1.6 percent drop from the same time in 2012.
Overall, the labor force in Broward County grew by just 782 jobs in February, but an additional 6,202 people found jobs.
Miami-Dade County saw a more incremental drop of just 0.1 percent and the rate was actually higher than the same time in 2012. Miami-Dade has struggled to recoup job losses and so far the governor's plans have not been able to stem the tide in the county.
Overall, Miami-Dade posted a net loss to its labor force of 7,625 workers from January to February, according to the AWI numbers. Miami-Dade saw 6,818 people lose their jobs in the same time period, but just 807 more people were added to the unemployment insurance numbers.
Monroe County continued to pace the state with an unemployment rate of just 4.2 percent with just 2,050 people looking for work in February.
"With an unemployment rate of 7.7 percent, the lowest in more than four years, and nearly 300,000 private sector jobs created over the last two years, we have proof that IT'S WORKING," Governor Scott said in a statement. "Our efforts to reduce taxes, pay down state debt and grow the economy, demonstrates our success in growing jobs for Florida families."
