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Broward, Palm Beach Beat Other U.S. Metro Areas In Jobless Drop

Broward County and Palm Beach’s unemployment rates are dropping faster than it is in any other major metropolitan area, according to a new federal report.

For August, the most recent month with updated federal data, the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area saw unemployment plunge to 5.8 percent from 7.7 percent a year before. according to data released Monday. Palm Beach also saw a drop of nearly two percentage points (from 9.7 percent to 8.4 percent), ending Seattle’s six-month run atop the list produced each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seattle and Fort Lauderdale tied for the sharpest unemployment drop in January among the country’s 34 largest metropolitan divisions, and Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach tied for the biggest decline in December 2012.

Miami-Dade, also a top 34 division, only saw its unemployment rate drop from 9.7 percent to 8.4 percent between August 2012 and August 2013.

The rankings use raw unemployment data, rather than the seasonally adjusted rates the BLS releases for each division. Broward’s adjusted rate for August came in at 5.6 percent, the lowest since July 2008. All Florida counties received their raw unemployment rates for August in a state report issued last month, but the metropolitan rankings with adjusted rates are not available until weeks later.

Miami-Dade’s adjusted rate of 7.9 percent is the lowest since October 2008.

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