Fla. Unemployment Rate Drops; S. Fla. Still Struggling
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida's unemployment rate dropped from a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.8 percent in September to 6.7 percent statewide in October. The unemployment rate dropped 1.5 points over the last year and was the lowest since August 2008.
But the gains, especially year-over-year gains are not being felt across the Sunshine State.
In Miami-Dade County, the unemployment rate rose from 8.3 percent in September to 8.5 percent in October. The jobless rate in Miami-Dade County was just 0.7 percent lower than what it was in October 2012.
But jobs aren't being created in Miami-Dade County.
According to the state's numbers, the number of jobs in Miami-Dade County in October 2012 was 1,196,923. Just one year later, the number of jobs in Miami-Dade County was 1,173,904, a loss of 23,019 jobs.
Overall, the labor force shrank in Miami-Dade County from 1,317,584 in October 2012 to 1,282,956 in October 2013, a loss of 34,628 workers. The number of workers on unemployment insurance in Miami-Dade County shrank from 120,661 in October 2012 to 109,052 in October 2013.
In Broward County, the overall labor force shrank by 13,092 workers from September 2013 to October 2013. The overall job numbers shrank by 9,481 jobs in the last month as well. But, on the plus side, unemployment numbers also shrank by 3,611 in the last month.
Year-over-year, the labor force in Broward County has been stagnant, gaining just 81 workers. But, jobs have increased by 16,233 when comparing October 2012 to October 2013.
