The Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater metro was among 16 of the 98 most populous areas in the country to actually grow living-wage jobs during the pandemic, according to analysis that purports to measure a more accurate unemployment rate.
Why it matters: When we think about unemployment, we don't often think about the people who are underemployed or don't make a livable wage.
How it works: The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity measures unemployment rate by tracking the percentage of the 16-and-older labor force that doesn't have a full-time job but wants one, has no job, or earns less than $20,000 before taxes.
- The analysis aims to account for the pandemic spike in discouraged workers dropping out of the labor market altogether.
The details: By that measure, Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater had the 10th most improved unemployment rate nationally between 2019 and 2020, climbing by 1.19% in the pandemic's first year.
Yes, but: The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan statistical area had a large increase in the functional unemployment rate, jumping 6.51%.
Go deeper: Read the full Ludwig report.
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