Ahead of tomorrow’s Job Flea, which is going to plop dozens of exciting employers in one spot, we dipped into the numbers to try to sketch out Miami’s employment landscape for you.
Miami-Dade has long been known for its trade and hospitality industries, but there’s a whole lot more to our economy than hotels and commodities. While in July 2015, trade, transportation and utilities employed the most people — 275,548 to be exact — education and health services was the second largest industry, with professional and business services – think jobs that require a college degree, like doctors and architects — trailing closely behind. Leisure and hospitality came in fourth, by the way.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total employment in Miami-Dade has experienced steady growth since its all-time low in July 2009, following the national recession. Since then, employment has consistently climbed — reaching an all-time high in December 2014. By July 2015, the number of total jobs in the county was 939,666.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Trade and transportation have consistently been Miami-Dade County’s largest employers for the last decade. Education and health services surpassed professional and business services in mid-2007, and has continued to be the second largest employer, countywide. Construction, manufacturing and other services have leveled off at roughly the same levels over the past decade — rounding out at about 40,000 jobs per sector. Natural resources and mining continued to be have the lowest rates of employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Financial activities — like working in the banking sector — netted the highest annual salaries, at $79,336. Information technology (which includes all those startups cropping up here) came in a close second, with an average annual salary of $77,534. The lowest annual salary was in leisure and hospitality, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics garnered had an average annual salary of $27,545.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Worth noting: The cumulative inflation between 2004 and 2014 was roughly 25 percent, which should be considered when comparing wages. To understand relative wages, use this inflation calculator, provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While numerically the average annual pay consistent rose from 2004 to 2014, when adjusted for inflation, it has risen only a few hundred dollars. (The average annual salary in 2004 has the purchasing power of $47,135.40 in 2014, when the average annual salary was $47,660.) Miami-Dade County has far lagged behind the country in annual wages — and the gap seems to be widening. By 2014, average annual wages reached $51,296 in the rest of America, while in Miami-Dade they sat at 47,660 — a $3,636 difference.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Over the past decade, information technology and financial services have passed the top spot in annual salary back and forth. In 2014, financial services surpassed information technology by roughly $1,800. Over the decade, leisure and hospitality and natural resources remained the jobs netting the lowest annual salary, hovering at $27,545 and $28, 342 respectively.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
By Rebekah Monson and Roshan Nebhrajani