Florida’s private sector experienced a notable contraction over the past year, losing 25,600 jobs as of February 2026, according to a report released by the Florida Department of Commerce on April 22, 2026. This decline contributed to a total nonagricultural employment loss of 36,700 positions since February 2025, representing a 0.4% decrease in the state’s total workforce. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, a 0.1 percentage point increase from the January 2026 rate and a full percentage point higher than the 3.6% rate recorded one year earlier.
The report, which follows an annual benchmarking process by state and federal labor officials to revise historical data, revealed that nine out of ten major industry sectors in Florida shed jobs over the 12-month period. The professional and business services sector saw the largest decline, losing 12,100 positions. Other significant losses occurred in leisure and hospitality, which fell by 10,300 jobs, and the construction sector, which decreased by 9,100 workers. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector also saw a reduction of 9,100 positions, while financial activities lost 7,500 jobs.
Public sector employment also trended downward, with total government jobs declining by 11,100 over the year. The information sector saw a reduction of 5,000 jobs, and manufacturing recorded a slight loss of 100 positions. In contrast, the education and health services sector was the sole industry to report growth, adding 35,500 workers over the year. Within that sector, health care and social assistance accounted for 29,900 of the new positions, reflecting a 2.2% increase for the industry.
State economists noted that the rise in unemployment is partly due to shifts in the labor force, which grew by 16,000 workers over the last 12 months to a total of 11,141,000. However, the number of individuals classified as out-of-work rose by 118,000 during the same period, bringing the total number of jobless Floridians to 516,000. Officials suggested that the rising jobless rate reflects a period where those entering or reentering the labor market are taking longer to find work. Additionally, a lack of overall growth in the labor force has been attributed to an increase in retirements.
Regionally, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area maintained the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.8%, though this was an increase from the 3.0% rate reported in the region a year ago. Conversely, Taylor County recorded the highest unemployment rate in the state at 9.3%, followed by Sumter County at 8.8%. Nationally, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 4.3% for the same period, reflecting mid-March conditions. Florida’s rate of job decline was steeper than the national trend, where the total number of jobs rose by 0.1% over the year.