TALLAHASSEE --- Unemployment in Florida dropped in August, though state economists have cautioned an uptick is expected before the end of the year.
The Department of Commerce on Friday reported Florida’s jobless rate was 4.5 percent, down from 4.6 percent in July, marking the third consecutive month of a 0.1 percentage-point decline after nearly a year of growth. The national average is 4.1 percent.
The August figure represents 502,000 unemployed Floridians out of a workforce of 11.1 million, 12,000 fewer people than a month earlier.
The state's monthly mark, which has been higher than the national average all year, is also 0.5 percent higher than a year ago, when the workforce was 11.08 million and 444,000 were listed as unemployed.
The report follows the latest annual long-range forecast from state economists, which noted worker pay has been improving in what has been considered a “low-wage” state, while employment growth is expected to remain just under 1 percent annually.
“We're not expecting that picture to change very much,” state economist Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research, told the Joint Legislative Budget Commission last week.
“We're looking at employment growth that only is to exceed, one-time, 1 percent, but mostly stays below that one percent, while at the same time we're expecting to see the next four years, we're expecting 4 percent or more in the average annual wage for Florida,” Baker continued.
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State economists on the Economic Estimating Conference put “full employment” around 4 percent. The state was mostly below that mark from the end of 2021 to the end of 2025. The rate went from 3.8 percent in September 2025 to 4.8 percent in May and June.
“The Conference expects the rate to rise further to 4.9 percent in the current year, then fall to 4.7 in Fiscal Year 2027-28 before finding a more stable 4.1 near the end of the forecast horizon,” the economic forecast states.
A boost to wages has been the 2020 voter-approved constitutional amendment, which has been raising the minimum wage by $1 a year. The hourly rate will grow to $15, or $11.98 for tipped workers, on September 30. After that increase, the rate will grow based on inflation.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has been unchanged since July 2009.
Job gains over the past year continue to involve education and health services, which accounts for around 1.6 million workers. All of the gains in the past month and over the year involve workers in health care and social assistance, which accounted for 41,300 of the estimated 39,600 new jobs in that category.
The leisure and hospitality sector, with around 1.34 million workers, added 13,400 jobs over the past year. But all the growth involved entertainment and recreation, as the subset involving hotel and food service workers lost 11,000 jobs in August and 2,900 over the year.
Construction, with an estimated 660,000 workers in Florida, lost 100 jobs from July to August but remains up by 2,100 on the year.
Manufacturing, with around 430,000 workers, dropped 900 positions in August, but is also up by 2,300 on the year.
Financial activities, which cover an estimated 676,000 employees in areas from finance and insurance to real estate, dropped by 400 in August and 14,300 over the year.
South Florida continues to have the lowest unemployment rate, with the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area at 3.7 percent, unchanged from July to August.
Metro area rates are not seasonally adjusted, while the statewide mark was adjusted.
The Panama City region was at 4.5 percent, Orlando at 4.6 percent and the Tampa-St. Petersburg area at 4.7 percent.
Jacksonville and Melbourne were at 4.8 percent. Tallahassee, Pensacola and Sarasota were at 4.9 percent.
Naples was at 5 percent, Daytona Beach at 5.3 percent, Gainesville at 5.4 percent and Lakeland at 5.6 percent.
The Wildwood area, which includes The Villages, maintained the state high at 7.9 percent, followed by Sebring at 6.8 percent and Homosassa Springs at 6.7 percent.
