Today's Local Real Estate News

Unemployment Spin

I thought it was interesting how the three major newspapers in South Florida reported recent increases in unemployment rates due to the housing downturn. This is a perfect example why you should not rely on a single news source for economic news. Here are the opening paragraphs of the newspapers:

The Sun-Sentinel reports: “Unemployment in South Florida shot up sharply in June, as the troubled construction industry continued slicing payrolls. The ranks of the unemployed grew by almost 14,000 in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties in June, compared with May.”

“That's a 57 percent increase in the number of people without jobs in South Florida over this time last year. In June 2006, the number of unemployed grew by 8,823.”

The Palm Beach Post reports: “Jobless rates spiked in June in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, hitting their highest point in two years.”

“The culprit: layoffs in the housing sector, which in the past two years has seen its blistering boom turn to withering bust. While construction employment in Palm Beach County had been weathering the housing downturn, job losses accelerated in June.”

“The county's construction employment shrank by 3.3 percent, or 1,600 jobs, from June 2006 to June 2007. That's after a year-over-year loss of 800 construction positions in May - the first month the construction industry's year-over-year employment shrank.”

The Miami Herald reports: “Despite the continued housing slowdown, Florida's unemployment rate remains relatively steady and job growth is fairly strong, economists said.”

“The state's unemployment rate for June was 3.5 percent, nearly unchanged from May and again below the national rate of 4.5 percent, according to state data released Friday.”

Obviously, the Miami Herald is trying to spin the recent bad news about unemployment in the best possible light. On the other hand, the Sun Sentinel has made the jobless picture look particular bleak. Reality falls somewhere in between; Florida’s housing-related employment is tanking while other sectors seem to be doing quite well. Unfortunately, most readers would only pick one of the three articles and would be left believing the particular newspaper’s biased spin.

In other news, Channel 6 reports that South Florida had the highest cost of living increases in the United States: “National Consumer Price Index statistics show that South Florida is experiencing the highest cost of living increases in the United States.”

“Most residents agree that South Florida's sun and surf is a slice of paradise, but the lifestyle comes with a price. ‘It's not feasible to live here anymore,’ one resident said. ‘We make more money, but it costs more to live here.’”