Miami-Dade County added 16,300 payroll jobs from December 2014 to December 2015 peaking in October/November with 79,500 jobs and surpassing pre-recession levels, according to statistics released Jan. 22.
“There was a positive trend in payroll job growth throughout the year and we expect it to continue in 2016,” said Larry K. Williams, The Beacon Council president and CEO. “Higher-paying industry sectors such as financial activities are leading the way with fast-paced job growth.”
The numbers analyzed
Miami-Dade County created 16,300 new nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted) which was a 1.5 percent increase from December 2014 to December 2015. Miami-Dade County continues to show year-over-year gains. Improvements in the non-farm payroll jobs can be found in a variety of sectors. And between November 2015 and December 2015, Miami-Dade County increased nonagricultural payroll jobs by 3,000 or a 0.3 percent increase.
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate from December 2014 to December 2015 decreased by 0.1 percentage point, to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent. The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December 2015 increased 0.2 percentage points, to 5.8 percent from 5.6 percent in November 2015. This slight increase is primarily attributed to an increase in the labor force from November 2015 to December 2015.
In December 2015, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County (taking seasonal fluctuations in the labor force into consideration) was 6.1 percent, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than a year ago (6.3 in December 2014) and 0.1 percentage point higher from November 2015.
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.
In Miami-Dade County, from December 2014 to December 2015, most industry sectors saw job improvements. The improvements in these sectors contributed to the gain of 16,300 new nonagricultural payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted). Notably Financial Activities, Professional and Business Services, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Construction, Education and Health Services, and Leisure and Hospitality, and Other Services, all continue to experience significant gains after having lost a large portion of their workforce during the recession.
The only major sectors that lost jobs between December 2014 and December 2015 was Total Government (-1,700 jobs), Manufacturing (-600 jobs) and Information (-100 jobs).
Sector
December 2014 – December 2015
Job Change (% Change)
Leisure and Hospitality
6,700 (+5.0%)
Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities
3,300 (+4.9%)
Financial Activities
1,500 (+1.9%)
Wholesale Trade
1,500 (+2.0%)
Professional and Business Services
1,500 (+0.9%)
Construction
1,400 (+3.8%)
Other Services
1,300 (+2.6%)
Retail Trade
1,100 (+0.7%)
Education and Health Services
400 (+0.2%)
State Government
100 (+0.6%)
Between November 2015 and December 2015, Miami-Dade County experienced an increase in the nonagricultural payroll jobs adding, 3,000 jobs. The sectors that lost jobs from November 2015 to December 2015, include Manufacturing (-400 jobs), Information (-100 jobs), Financial Activities (-200 jobs), Professional and Business Services (-400 jobs), Education and Health Services (-300 jobs), State Government (-1,400 jobs) and Local Government (-700 jobs).
Sector
November 2015 – December 2015
Job Change (% Change)
Retail Trade
2,700 (+1.8%)
Education and Health Services
2,200 (+1.3%)
Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities
1,800 (+2.6%)
Total Government
1,300 (+0.9%)
Leisure and Hospitality
1,200 (+0.9%)
Federal government
400 (+2.1%)
Wholesale Trade
300 (+0.4%)
Construction
100 (+0.3%)
The not-seasonally adjusted December 2015 unemployment rate for the State of Florida was 4.7 percent, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than November 2015 at 4.9 percentage points. From December 2014 to December 2015, Florida’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points (from 5.4 percent to 4.7 percent). The United States not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in December 2015.
The 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.
