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Home My WebLink AboutR-82-0453RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HONORABLE ROBERT GRAHAM, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, TO ENSURE THAT THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECURITY USES FOOD STAMP DATA AS AN AID TO SECURE AN OFFICIAL INCREASE IN THE LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SHOWING THE REFUGEE IMPACT ON UNEMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE STATE TO PROVIDE A MORE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL FUNDING; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO FORWARD A COPY OF THE HEREIN RESOLUTION TO GOVERNOR ROBERT GRAHAM. WHEREAS, the official unemployment rate for Dade County, impacted severely by Cuban and Haitian entrants, understates actual unemployment because it fails to adequately count the job -seeking entrants; and WHEREAS, the newly -arrived, job -seeking entrants are counted by the U.S. Department of Labor in statewide unemployment statistics since those statistics are determined by a household survey conducted by the Bureau of Census; and WHEREAS, the methodology used by the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security (FDLES) to disaggregate state unemployment into local unemployment relies almost exclusively on the number of laid -off workers collecting unemployment insurance benefits; and WHEREAS, the methodology used by the FDLES for determining the jobless rate for individual counties thus distributes the refugee - related increase in unemployment across all counties rather than assigning it specifically to the four impacted counties of Broward, Dade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Labor has previously given approval for the FDLES to use food stamp data to detect those recently - arrived, job -seeking entrants rather than to depend solely upon unem- ployment insurance benefit data which does not include those entrants; and WHEREAS, the FDLES elected not to use this approved change in methodology which would recognize the job -seeking entrants since the U.S. Department of Labor would not permit a corresponding increase in the statewide total unemployment statistics; and WHEREAS, the South Florida Employment and Training Consortium estimates that if the FDLES allowed for the inclusion of the recently - arrived, job -seeking entrants in its computation of the local unem- ployment rate, said rate would have reached 11.3 in January. n OF MAY 11PUm instead of the official 6.9 percent that was released; and WHEREAS, this unofficial rate would place Miami among the top five major metropolitan areas with the highest incidence of unemployment in the nation; and WHEREAS, federal funding for programs such as CETA is allocated based on this official unemployment rate; and WHEREAS, the unrealistic unemployment rate negatively impacts on Dade County's fair share of federal funding; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The Honorable Robert Graham, Governor of the State of. Florida, is hereby requested to utilize all availabe means at his disposal to ensure that the Florida Department of Labor and Employ- ment Security (FDLES) uses food stamp data as an aid to disaggregate state unemployment into local unemployment as a methodology which it and the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, have already found acceptable through June, 1981 and that the FDLES extend such use thereafter. Section 2. It is hereby further requested that the Governor have the State make a mid -year correction (Fiscal Year 1982) in the understatement of the unemployment rate in the four impacted Florida counties of Broward, Dade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach and supply this corrected rate to the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies for their use in the allocation process for Fiscal Year 1983 funds. This prompt action will provide a more equitable distribution of federal funding tied to unemployment within the State of Florida. Section 3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of the herein resolution to the Honorable Robert Graham, Govenor of the State of Florida. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 27 day of _ MAY 1982. ATTEST: RALP% G. ONGIE, CITY CL -2- MAURICE A. FERRE M A Y O R PREPARED AND APPROVED BY: do V • ROBERT F. CLARK DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: GEORGE F. NOX, JR. CITY ATTO EY -3- 827453 5� ti lTr:ii•r�FF! :i `:::;'•iQ.��i:�_t'A Howard V. Gary Aphil 7, 21•582 City Manager Proposed Resolution to petition for Refugees to be included in the Unemployment Rate. •� Robert D. Krause � • Director Department of Human Resources Attached please find a resolution for submission to the City Commission to petition Governor Graham to secure an official increase in the local unemployment rate showing the refugee impact. The South Florida Employ- ment and Training Consortium is urging the major local governments to adopt similar resolutions, since the State of Florida thus far has not been receptive to the Consortium's requests for an upward adjustment of the unemployment rate in the counties where refugees have impacted. An upward adjustment of this rate, which is tied to Federal funding alloca- tions for such programs as CETA, would result in additional dollars for local jurisdictions and would ensure a more equitable distribution of these funds throughout the State. The official unemployment rates for Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Hills- borough counties do not fully account for the large influx of job -seeking Cuban and Haitian refugees in these four counties. At the heart of the problem is the fact that the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security (F;)LES) methodology for determining the rate for individual counties is based on unemployment insurance claims. In order to be eligible for unemployment compensation, a worker must have worked at least 20 consecutive weeks. In recognition of the fact that refugees could not have met this eligibility requirement until at least July 1981, the four impacted counties were permitted by the Depart- ment of Labor an adjustment of their unemployment rate: by using monthly food stamp application records for refugees who declared that they were actively seeking work. It was assumed however, that after June 1981 refugees could have established the requisite work histories and become eligible for unemployment compensation. Analysis of relevant data indi- cated that this was a fallacious assumption. The official unemployment rates for the four impacted counties never included the upward adjustment that would have been produced by the continued use of the food stamp data. Consequently, the four impacted counties are not receiving their fair share of federal funding that is based on official unemployment statistics. ItI)X/FR/nb 82-453 COcrli W�10 ffi June7, 1982 The Honorable Robert D. Graham Governor of the State of Florida _ The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32304 P M PH C, ONC,IE city (rt•rl A%sistaot Cto Clerl L)EPUTY CM CLERKS Robcrt F. Tmetcr Georgia l.1. Lithe Ilya Teems Ni Mendoza E�rlio Rizo M101,OiliNi DIVI�I Vororr1� Wow I, lH:,nunt,r, Ac(sV_ Dear Governor Graham: As requested by the City of Miami Commission, enclosed herein please find a copy of Resolution No. 82-453 pas- sed and adopted at its meeting held on Play 27, 1982, which is self-explanatory. On behalf of the City of Miami, thank you for your kind attention. Ver truly yours, i JTTY HIRAI Assistant City Clerk MH:smm Enclosure -��-: r �-.cn.ir r,rs r��p� 't,t. Hai; 350! Pdn Ar��er�ra� Urt•e : Miami. Flo,i;ia 3�1.f� 5'9 E':,�