FloridaCommerce: Florida sees jobless rate rise to 3.7% for April, still below the national rate

First-time unemployment rate claims went down for the week in Florida.

Florida’s unemployment rate ticked up for the first time in two months in April, according to FloridaCommerce.

Data from the state’s jobs and business bureau shows the unemployment rate last month came in at 3.7%. That’s an increase from the March figure of 3.6%. It’s also the third bump in the unemployment rate for Florida this year.

A starker increase is the year-over-year comparison that saw a 0.4-percentage-point difference. The unemployment rate in April 2024 was 3.2%.

Florida still has a lower unemployment rate than the U.S. as a whole, as the national rate held steady at 4.2%. That’s the 54th month in a row Florida’s unemployment rate has come in below the national rate.

There were 410,000 unemployed Floridians last month out of a workforce of 11.2 million people, after seasonal adjustments. The labor force figure is a new high for the state and FloridaCommerce officials attribute that to an addition of 3.6 million new businesses since 2019.

Florida’s robust tourism industry is also helping to buoy the economy as there were 33.1 million visitors in the fourth quarter of 2024, the highest number of visitors ever recorded for the final three months finishing a year.

“Under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership, Florida continues to expand target industries by remaining committed to growth and strategic investments,” said Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly. “With a $1.7 trillion economy, Florida ranks as the No. 1 economy in the nation, we continue to attract talent and build confidence for businesses and a future full of opportunity for Floridians.”

South Florida had the strongest showing in jobless figures for April. Monroe County had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.4% followed closely by Miami-Dade County, which registered a 2.7% jobless figure. While Miami’s rate may be among the lowest in the state, it’s still an increase from the April 2024 figure of 2.3%.

Fort Lauderdale also saw an increase in the monthly jobless rate coming in at 3.2% for April, a jump of 0.4 percentage points from April last year when the rate was 2.8%.

West Palm Beach posted a 3.4% jobless rate in April, up from the 2.9% rate a year ago.

Orlando’s unemployment rate was similar to South Florida, with a 3.3% jobless rate in April. That’s an increase over last year’s figure of 2.9%.

Other large metropolitan areas showed notable year-to-year increases. Jacksonville and the Tampa areas posted a 3.5% jobless rate, up over April 2024’s rate of 3% for each metro area.

The Fort Myers and the Pensacola areas each registered among the highest unemployment rates for larger metro regions. They showed a 3.7% unemployment rate last month. That’s a hike of 0.7 percentage points for both metro areas from April 2024’s rate of 3%.