Florida unemployment rate holds steady in February, lower than national rate

Florida’s unemployment rate for February held steady while remaining lower than the national jobless figure for that month, according to a Florida Department of Commerce report published this month.

Gov. Ron DeSantis touted the unemployment figure, which was 3.1% last month, representing no change from the January figure. The national jobless rate in February came in at 3.9%, which is a slight uptick from the January figure of 3.7%.

DeSantis was quick to point out that Florida has been on a roll by maintaining a lower unemployment rate than the national figure for the past 40 months.

“Florida continues to outperform the nation,” DeSantis said in a prepared statement this month. “We have proven that bold, conservative leadership across the board produces booming economic results—more jobs, lower taxes, less regulation, and fiscal security.”

While the January and February jobless rate remained the same in the report, those figures are an increase from Florida’s December figure of 2.9%. It’s also an uptick from February, 2023 when the state unemployment rate was 2.7%.

In other data in the Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research, Florida’s workforce grew by 2% in February, an increase of about 217,000 jobs from February, 2023.

“Florida’s strong talent pipeline and skilled workforce are the building blocks of Florida’s economic growth and stability. February’s economic data is more absolute evidence that Florida is on the right path,” said Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly.

In Florida’s largest metropolitan areas, Miami had the lowest unemployment rate in February at 1.6%. The Pensacola area had the highest jobless figure for the month at 3.4%. Miami was the only large city in Florida to have an unemployment rate under 3%.

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