Jobless Rate Takes Dive In Miami-Dade, Slight Dip Statewide
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Florida unemployment fell slightly statewide in November, but Miami-Dade County saw a major drop of more than a percentage point. That good news was tempered by the fact that almost 50 thousand people statewide were wiped from the unemployment rolls possibly because they stopped looking for work, or lost their benefits.
The state unemployment rate for November was 10 percent, the lowest in 31 months, but down just 4 tenths of a percent when compared to October. That places the November unemployment rate almost 2 points lower than the 11.9% rate seen in October, 2010. The last time Florida saw a 10% unemployment rate was in May, 2009.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity released the numbers Friday morning, and used the announcement to promote what it claims is significant job growth since Governor Rick Scott took office. The state claims Florida has seen 120 thousand net jobs created since January, 2011.
The state claims lost jobs in the public sector are being replaced by new jobs in the private sector by a ratio of 9-1, with private sector job creation averaging 13 thousand per month.
Scott ran on a platform of creating 7 million new jobs in Florida in 7 years.
While the state claims substantial job creation, those numbers are not being reflected in some South Florida counties unemployment rates.
November numbers for Monroe County and Broward County were unchanged from October. In Broward county, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.9%, with 88 thousand officially unemployed. That compares to a rate of 10.7 percent and 105 thousand unemployed a year ago.
In Monroe County, the rate was unchanged at 6.4% and 2800 officially unemployed. That compares to 8.1% and 3600 unemployed a year ago.
The month-to-month numbers were better on their face for Miami-Dade county. The unemployment rate dropped from 10.7% in October to 9.4% in November, a significant improvement in a county which has seen significantly worse unemployment than the rest of South Florida. A year ago, the rate was 12.6%.
A year ago, 163 thousand Miami-Dade residents were officially unemployed, 40 thousand more than were officially jobless in November.
