Miami-Dade's unemployment rate plunged to 8.8 percent in September, but the numbers behind the improvement look discouraging.
The unemployment rate in Florida's largest county would have gone up if not for fewer job seekers, since employment dropped by about 5,000 people between August and September, according to a new federal report out Friday morning. But the combination of a smaller labor force and a smaller workforce resulted in a big drop from August's 9.2 percent unemployment rate.
September's jobless rate is the lowest since December 2008 for Miami-Dade. As the largest county in the state, Miami-Dade is the only jurisdiction in Florida to get a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate when Washington issues its state and local employment data mid-month.
Statewide, unemployment inched down from 8.8 percent to 8.7 percent -- for the right reasons. The state saw an increase in both job holders and job seekers in the household survey that analysts use to determine the unemployment rate, which is seasonally adjusted at the state level.
Broward will receive its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate next week. The raw number released Friday showed unemployment down sharply from 7.9 percent to 7.5 percent, with both job seekers and job holders on the upswing.
