Miami, Fort Lauderdale jobs steady despite global downturn

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Miami, Fort Lauderdale jobs steady despite global downturn MARCH 14, 2016 11:24 AM The Miami Marlins hosted a job fair at Marlins Park for the upcoming baseball season and all special events at

2 Miami, Fort Lauderdale jobs steady despite global downturn MARCH 14, :24 AM The Miami Marlins hosted a job fair at Marlins Park for the upcoming baseball season and all special events at Marlins Park. BY DEBORA LIMA When Latin America quakes, South Florida braces for aftershocks. In January, at least, the region s workforce was spared. Across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, job growth remained steady, according to a monthly report released Monday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Brazil is in its worst recession since Canada is struggling with growth. [Local jobs] didn t really show any of those ill effects, said Sean Snaith, an economist at

3 University of Central Florida. But whether that continues to be the case is something we re watching for. Unemployment in Miami-Dade fell to 6 percent in January, down from 6.1 percent in December and 6.4 percent in January Broward had an even larger year-over-year decrease, down to 4.7 percent in January from 5.5 percent one year prior. The South Florida labor pool grew by about 26,000 people compared to January Employment also increased, from 2,841,525 to 2,884,964. Manuel Lasaga, president of economic consultancy firm StratInfo and a professor of finance at Florida International University, said the strength is a spillover effect of the national economy s upswing. The U.S. is the best performing economy in industrialized economies today... it should be an incentive for people who have temporairly left the labor force to get back into the swing of things, he said. Overall, unemployment in Florida also dropped, falling to 5 percent in January from 5.1 percent in December and 5.7 percent in January Consumers are spending more freely, UCF economist Snaith explained. Low gas prices helped that. Mason Williams, managing director and CIO of Coral Gables Trust Company, emphasized that the housing market is solid, despite reports that growth and sales are softening. Can t keep goin in a straight line forever, so [the real estate market is] leveling off but not trending down in any way, shape or form, Williams said. Numbers coming out for the rest of the year on employment should continue to be suggestive of a viable real estate market, pending any surprises. South Florida, he added, continues to be in high demand for primary and secondary homes. It was a strong year for construction, finance and the category of white-collar workers that includes lawyers, accountants and architects. Education and health services also grew at a good clip. Tourism, trade and retail, however, all grew at slower rates, likely due to global downturn, Snaith said. South Florida has been resilient to foreign turmoil because of a hearty national economy, according to Mekael Teshome, an analyst at PNC Bank who covers Florida. The U.S. is the major engine of the global economy right now, at least among the major economies. And that s been a tremendous asset for us in South Florida, Teshome said.

4 As we have other parts of the U.S. continue in their economic expansions, it means more and more retirees are able to sell their homes and come to Florida. That s really what s buffering the weakness from overseas. Today s report also brought final numbers for the previous year. There were no major revisions, with the exception of the Miami-Dade unemployment rate of January 2015, which was revised from 6.1 up to 6.4 percent, and the rate in June 2015, which was revised down from 6.5 to 6.1 percent. The Miami-Dade unemployment rate hovered around 6 percent all year, at a time when unemployment rates in Broward and Florida continue to fall. So our recovery has basically stalled because of global economic conditions. Things aren't getting worse. But this may be the best they get. Florida s economy, by my reckoning, went into recession before the national economy did, Snaith said. We had a longer road to go down to go back to full health in the labor market, and we re still on that road despite the low unemployment rate. UNEMPLOYMENT ACROSS FLORIDA January 2016 December 2015 January 2015 Miami-Dade 6% 6.1% 6.4% Broward 4.7% 4.4% 5.5% Florida 5% 5.1% 5.7% U.S. 4.9% 5% 5.7% Note: All rates except Broward have been adjusted to account for seasonal changes in the labor force, meaning they are a solid month-to-month economic indicator.

5 Palm Beach County sees robust job growth, lackluster pay increases By Jeff Ostrowski Posted: 3:08 p.m. Monday, March 14, 2016 In a hiring spree that s welcome news for workers, Palm Beach County added jobs at a robust pace in But when might strong demand for workers translate to hefty raises? That s the big question, said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith. Palm Beach County employment grew by nearly 20,000 jobs, a 3.4 percent pace, from January 2015 to January 2016, matching the state s job gains over the past year, Florida s labor department said Monday. Palm Beach County, with a concentration of higher-paying jobs that makes it unusual in Florida s low-wage labor market, had trailed the state s job growth in recent months. Keeping pace with Florida s hiring is no small feat. The state had the highest rate of job growth among large states over the past year, easily outpacing California s 2.8 percent, Texas 1.6 percent and Ohio s 1.5 percent. Now for the disconnect: Despite stronger-than-average job growth, Palm Beach County has seen lower-than-average pay increases. In a separate report released last week, the U.S. Labor Department said Palm Beach County wage growth is trailing the nation s. Palm Beach County workers saw wages climb by 2.2 percent from the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015, lagging the national average of 2.6 percent. It s taken a long, long time for the wages to catch up with the demand, said Rand McDermott, manager at staffing firm Robert Half International in West Palm Beach. Even so, he offers a bold projection for wages.

2016 is going to be the year of wage growth, McDermott said. Now that employers realize there s this drain of talent, and this uptick in demand, wages are going to have to start to pick up.

6 2016 is going to be the year of wage growth, McDermott said. Now that employers realize there s this drain of talent, and this uptick in demand, wages are going to have to start to pick up. The demand for the skilled talent is so high. But economists say it s unclear when job growth might translate to fatter paychecks. That s in part because many Americans have been sitting out the formal job market since the Great Recession. Florida s labor market has a lot of momentum right now, Snaith said. But despite all this job growth, there is still slack in the job market. Palm Beach County s unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent in January, the state s labor department said Monday, up from 4.5 percent in December but down from 5.3 percent a year ago. Palm Beach County unemployment typically hits its lowest level in December, amid the holiday hiring spree. In a show of strength, every industry tracked by the state added jobs over the past year. Palm Beach County gained 19,700 jobs overall, led by professional and business services (4,200 jobs), education and health services (3,700 jobs) and trade, transportation and utilities (3,200 jobs). Even laggards like construction, manufacturing and information added jobs over the past year. Still, many employers have remained tight-fisted with raises. It s a function of employers getting by with what they have, said Mason Williams, chief investment officer at Coral Gables Trust Co. With the sluggish economy, corporations are still reluctant to spend cash they have on the balance sheet.

Keeping the Economy on Track

Keeping the Economy on Track San Francisco Rotary Club Marines Memorial Club For delivery December 5, 2000 at approx. 12:55 PM PST By Robert T. Parry, President, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco I. Good afternoon. Keeping the