Greater Miami unemployment reaches new two-year peak, higher than state rate
Jesse Scheckner
Aug 27, 2024 Updated Aug 28, 2024
Unemployment in Greater Miami — an area comprising Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — was close to 3.6% in July, according to FloridaCommerce. That’s the highest it’s been since January 2022.
It’s also 0.2 percentage points above the state average, which has held steady for months, per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. In just two months, since May, unemployment in the area has grown by nearly a percentage point. (The Greater Miami figure does still sit 0.8 points below the national rate, however.)
Miami-Dade picked up the most private sector jobs this year among all metropolitan areas in the state, with 35,400 positions filled year-over-year through July. The county led in four industry sectors: education and health, with 9,300 added jobs; leisure and hospitality, with 7,200 more jobs; professional and business services, with 7,100 more; and construction, which saw a 6,400-job uptick.
Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate in July was 3.3% — more than double what it was in November, when the county’s jobless rate was a jaw-dropping 1.4%, with fewer than 19,300 people without jobs.
In Broward, it was 3.6%, up 0.5 points from the year prior. The county led all others in Florida with job gains in trade, transportation and utilities (5,200), government (4,300) and other services (3,500).
Palm Beach County’s unemployment last month was 3.8%, up half a point year over year. Its best performing industry in terms of job gains was education and health services, which enjoyed a 4,100-job boost.
Florida’s unemployment rate last month was 3.3%, a full percentage point below the national average. The rate has held steady since April. It was at 3.4% in March.
“Job creators continue to demonstrate great confidence in Florida through their investments, creating high-skill, high-wage jobs,” an Aug. 16 FloridaCommerce press release said.
“Florida offers hundreds of workforce education and workforce development opportunities for job seekers to gain the skills they need to compete in such an elevated and more competitive job market, ensuring economic resiliency and success for generations of Floridians to come.”
According to a recent survey by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Florida International University, only 17.6% of employers in Miami-Dade are confident their organization is well-prepared to handle the evolving local workforce landscape.
Most employers (70.2%) believed a lack of qualified candidates in the job market makes recruiting workers challenging. Forty-four percent said it’s difficult to attract top talent.
There’s also been problems with retention. While 69% of employers saw no change in retirements, most (52.3%) said they saw an increase in resignations over the past two years.
The most significant reason workers gave for departing? Cost of living. Nearly 57% of managers said employees have left due to troubles making ends meet.