- July 17, 2026
For the first time since the end of 2024, Florida’s unemployment rate went down last month.
A report released Friday by the Department of Commerce shows the state’s jobless rate for June at 4.7 percent, a reduction from 4.8 percent the prior two months. The rate is still 0.5 percentage points higher than the national average.
Driven by increases in restaurant, hotel, health care, transportation and warehousing jobs last month, the state saw an 11,100 increase, 0.1 percent, in overall new positions from May to June.
The June numbers show 525,000 Floridians qualified as out-of-work, up 107,000 from a year earlier, from a workforce of 11.14 million, up 56,000 in the same time.
The state’s unemployment rate had been on a gradual upward trend since ticking down from 3.5 percent in November 2024 to 3.4 percent in December 2024.
Nationally, the jobless rate stands at 4.2 percent, up from 4.1 percent a year earlier.
Even with the one-month decline, the state’s unemployment rate stands 0.9 percentage points higher than a year ago.
Construction jobs have decreased by 3,200 over the past year, including a 900 drop from May to June. Positions in the retail trade were up 100 from May to June but still are down 5,900 from a year earlier.
The field of finance and insurance reported adding 1,600 positions in the past month, but is still down 8,700 over the year.
Real estate jobs dropped by 1,000 and are down 4,200 over the last 12 months.
Governments in Florida shed 900 jobs in the past month and 10,500 over the year, with the federal government accounting for 7,700 of the decrease over the past year.
The biggest gain over the past year involved health care and social assistance, adding 5,500 in the past month and 32,400 on the year.
The area of transportation, warehousing, and utilities grew by 4,100 in June, which put the field at a positive 900 over the past year.
Manufacturing is up 400 on the year after reporting the addition of 600 positions in June.
Educational services, which are up 6,600 jobs on the year, posted a drop of 500 jobs in the June report.
Hotel and food service jobs grew by 4,000 in the June report but remain down 2,700 from a year earlier.
South Florida continues to have the lowest unemployment rate, with the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area at 3.9 percent, up from a revised 3.7 percent in May and 3.3 percent in June 2025.
The Orlando and Panama City regions were next at 4.6 percent.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area was at 4.7 percent. Jacksonville, Naples and Melbourne were at 4.8 percent. Pensacola and Sarasota both stood at 4.9 percent.
Tallahassee has a 5 percent unemployment rate, followed by Daytona Beach at 5.3 percent, Gainesville at 5.5 percent, Vero Beach at 5.6 percent and Lakeland at 5.7 percent.
The Wildwood region, including The Villages has the highest unemployment rate at 7.8 percent, followed by Homosassa Springs at 6.7 percent and Sebring at 6.6 percent.
