Florida’s jobless rate jumps for the first time since April, increases to 3.8%

For the first time in five months, Florida’s unemployment rate has increased.

The jobless figure came in at 3.8% in August. That’s up from a 3.7% rate that had held steady since April, according to FloridaCommerce, the state’s economic development bureau.

In the year-over-year comparison, the latest rate is up by 0.4 percentage points. The unemployment rate for August 2024 was 3.4%.

The latest Florida figure accounts for 424,000 Floridians who are without a job in a labor force of 11.19 million people, according to the FloridaCommerce news release. Across the state, there were 98,200 jobs added in the past year, an increase of 1%.

The education and health services sector saw the greatest gain in jobs in the past year with an addition of 38,000 positions, up by 2.5% annually. Trade, transportation and utilities sectors added 23,400 jobs, while government jobs jumped by 12,800 in the past year.

While the unemployment rate saw an uptick in Florida, the state maintained an extensive run of having a lower rate than the national figure, which stands at 4.3%. That streak is now at 58 straight months.

“Under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership, Florida’s economy is thriving — driven by a strong focus on education, workforce training and smart, strategic policies that support both job seekers and job creators,” said Florida Secretary of Commerce, J. Alex Kelly.

“Florida continues to lead the nation in workforce development, and we remain focused on growing our talent pipeline through strategic investments to meet the demands of our dynamic and growing economy.”

The largest metropolitan areas of the state all saw unemployment rates increase in August.

The Miami metropolitan area again had the lowest unemployment rate among major metros, coming in at 2.9% in August. That’s unchanged from August 2024, though it’s a slight uptick of 0.1 percentage points from the July figure of 2.8%.

The Fort Lauderdale area saw a notable uptick, arriving at a 4.1% jobless rate in August. That’s up from the 3.8% figure in July and a substantial increase from August 2024, when the unemployment was 3.6%.

Orlando registered a 4.3% unemployment rate in August, a 0.6-percentage-point increase from a year ago when the rate was 3.7%. It’s also an increase from July’s figure of 3.9%.

Tampa and West Palm Beach each settled at a 4.4% jobless figure in August. Those metro areas shared the same amount of increase, up from last year’s figure of 3.8% and the July rate of 4.1%.

Jacksonville’s unemployment rate also spiked to 4.6% last month. That’s up by 0.8 percentage points from the year-over-year comparison, and it was an uptick from July’s figure of 4.2%.

Pensacola’s unemployment rate last month was 4.7%, a 0.8-percentage-point increase from August 2024 and a slight jump from the July figure of 4.4%.

The Fort Myers area had the highest unemployment rate among major metros last month, recording a 4.8% jobless rate. That’s a 0.8-percentage-point jump over the 4% rate a year ago and a hike over July’s figure of 4.5%.

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