The Miami area just posted its highest unemployment rate on record at 13.9% as the COVID-19 pandemic walloped the tourism-dependent economy.
Although employment has been recovering in some U.S. major metropolitan areas, Miami’s jobless rate continued its upward trajectory last month.
Last month, 188,849 persons in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area were unemployed, up from just 35,504 in July 2019, unadjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday.
Florida was among a number of Sun Belt states, that include Arizona and part of California, that experienced a sharp resurgence of coronavirus cases in June and July.
Although cases have slowed in recent weeks, indoor dining is still banned at Miami-Dade restaurants. Bowling alleys and movie theaters remain shuttered, and the local school district is starting the year with remote learning.