Hialeah faces highest growth in unemployment nationwide, Miami follows: WalletHub

City of Hialeah residents line up to pick up applications for unemployment insurance benefits. (SKY 10)

MIAMI – In the Miami-Dade County’s cities of Hialeah and Miami, the coronavirus pandemic didn’t just bring terror about dying of the contagious respiratory illness. It also increased economic insecurity when the measures imposed to save lives shut down the tourism, dining, and entertainment industries.

WalletHub’s recent analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data for 180 cities shows Hialeah is the city with the highest January vs. March growth in unemployment in the nation. Miami, which includes the Little Havana and Little Haiti neighborhoods, took the second spot.

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Hialeah’s January vs. March change in unemployment was 145.91% and Miami’s was 137.25%, according to WalletHub’s analysis.

Hialeah and Miami are also the cities with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The two cities’ cases make up 74% of the coronavirus cases in Miami-Dade County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 7,490 coronavirus cases in Miami, 1,475 cases in Hialeah and 12,063, Florida’s DOH reported on Thursday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are not yet ready to start the gradual process of reopening with the rest of the state on Monday.

Click on the map to see how other cities rank:

Source: WalletHub

About the Authors:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

Jeff Weinsier joined Local 10 News in September 1994. He is currently an investigative reporter for Local 10. He is also responsible for the very popular Dirty Dining segments.