TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — New Florida job numbers released on Wednesday weren't so rosy, prompting the state's senior senator and former governor to sound off, calling it "concerning".
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott made a couple of posts on X after a new state report showed that Florida lost 20,600 jobs from January 2025 to January 2026.
WATCH BELOW: Sen. Rick Scott calls Florida's latest jobs report 'concerning'
"It's concerning to see Florida losing so many private-sector jobs in today's report. Florida must stay focused on creating an environment where our state remains the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family, and that starts with creating more jobs," Scott posted on X.
The report found that eight of 10 major industries experienced negative over-the-year job growth in January, bringing Florida's unemployment rate to 4.5%. That figure is slightly above the national average of 4.3%.
"A good-paying job is life-changing, which is why I'm concerned about this report. Florida shouldn't be losing so many jobs, and we shouldn't be surpassing the national unemployment average for the first time in years," Scott posted on X.
A good-paying job is life-changing, which is why I’m concerned about this report. Florida shouldn’t be losing so many jobs, and we shouldn’t be surpassing the national unemployment average for the first time in years.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 8, 2026
Creating more jobs needs to be PRIORITY #1! https://t.co/VmBKLBQMUv
According to the report, the industries losing the most jobs in Florida over the last year included:
- Professional and business services (-15,900 jobs, -1.0 percent)
- Total government (-11,600 jobs, -1.0 percent)
- Financial activities (-9,200 jobs, -1.3 percent)
- Construction (-8,800 jobs, -1.3 percent)
- Other services (-7,900 jobs, -2.1 percent)
- Trade, transportation, and utilities (-6,200 jobs, -0.3 percent)
- Leisure and hospitality (-4,800 jobs, -0.4 percent)
- Information (-2,800 jobs, -1.8 percent)
Also, 13 metro areas in Florida lost jobs over the last year.
The areas losing more than 3,000 jobs were the following:
- Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Sunrise (-9,900 jobs, -1.1 percent)
- Miami-Miami Beach, Kendall (-5,700 jobs, -0.4 percent),
- West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach (-5,300 jobs, -0.7 percent)
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers (-4,900 jobs, -1.5 percent)
- Naples-Marco Island (-4,200 jobs, -2.3 percent)
- Jacksonville (-3,900 jobs, -0.5 percent)
A few bright spots from the report were that 11 of all 25 metro areas in Florida had over-the-year job gains, including these areas with the largest gains:
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (+6,800 jobs, +0.5 percent)
- North Port-BradentonSarasota (+3,500 jobs, +1.0 percent)
- Lakeland-Winter Haven (+3,100 jobs, +1.1 percent)
Industries that saw job growth in Florida included:
- Education and health services (+45,700 jobs, +2.9 percent)
- Manufacturing (+800 jobs, +0.2 percent)
The report said that Miami-Dade County had the state's lowest unemployment rate at 2.6%, with Taylor County having the highest at 10.3%.
Below are the latest unemployment figures for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast:
- Indian River County: 6%
- Okeechobee County: 5.9%
- St. Lucie County: 5.7%
- Martin County: 5.3%
- Palm Beach County: 4.9%
Julia Dattolo of CareerSource Palm Beach County told WPTV that the area's job market is very active, attracting new residents looking for work and more industries hiring than in other parts of the state
"Our largest growing sector is health care and education, 3,000 new jobs over the last year," Dattolo said. "When you talk about the other sectors, business and professional services, that's No. 3 here."
Read the full jobs report below:
