{"id":260782,"date":"2026-05-06T16:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/260782\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T16:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:07:15","slug":"florida-unemployment-jumps-to-4-7-even-as-the-state-adds-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/260782\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida unemployment jumps to 4.7% even as the state adds jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida’s labor market is displaying a mix of developments. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights a notable rise in the unemployment rate and continued job growth, painting a complex picture of the state’s economy.<\/p>\n

Unemployment on the Rise<\/p>\n

According to the report, in March, Florida’s unemployment rate climbed to 4.7%. This is a significant increase from 3.6% in March 2025, marking a 1.1 percentage point jump\u2014one of the largest increases seen nationally. <\/p>\n

Approximately 522,693 people are currently unemployed in a labor force totaling around 11.15 million. While this rise is concerning, the state’s unemployment rate remains close to the national average of 4.3%.<\/p>\n

Job Growth Continues<\/p>\n

Despite the increase in unemployment, Florida managed to add 28,100 jobs in March, reflecting a growth of 0.3%, per the report.<\/p>\n

The state stands out as one of only three in the country to experience job gains during this period. <\/p>\n

See also: Palm Beach County teacher pay dispute heads to impasse hearing<\/a><\/p>\n

Key Employment Sectors<\/p>\n

The report states that Florida\u2019s economy is heavily service-oriented, with total nonfarm employment nearing 9.99 million jobs. <\/p>\n

Major sectors include:<\/p>\n

Professional & Business Services: ~1.63 million jobsTrade, Transportation & Utilities: ~1.99 million jobsEducation & Health Services: ~1.62 million jobsLeisure & Hospitality: ~1.33 million jobsWhat Does This Mean?<\/p>\n

The current labor market indicators present mixed signals for Florida. While job growth suggests short-term economic strength, the rise in unemployment raises longer-term concerns. This may indicate that the growth in the labor force or hiring pace isn\u2019t keeping up with the number of job seekers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida’s labor market is displaying a mix of developments. The latest report…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-260782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}