Florida’s unemployment rate climbed to 4.5% in January, a 0.2 percentage point jump from December, according to data released Wednesday by the Department of Commerce. The increase marks the fifth consecutive month of rising joblessness in the state—and the first time Florida has surpassed the national unemployment rate in years.
The national rate currently stands at 4.3 percent, up from 4% a year ago.
- Escambia County’s rate is higher than the national and state rates.
“A good-paying job is life-changing, which is why I’m concerned about this report,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott posted on X. “Florida shouldn’t be losing so many jobs, and we shouldn’t be surpassing the national unemployment average for the first time in years. Creating more jobs needs to be PRIORITY #1!
The January figure represents 499,000 Floridians out of work from a labor force of 11.12 million—20,000 more than the revised December figures. The workforce itself shrank by 7,000 over the same period. Florida’s jobless rate is now a full percentage point higher than it was a year ago, when it stood at 3.5 percent. The rate was as low as 3.7% as recently as July.
Escambia County Feeling the Pain
Locally, Escambia County’s unemployment rate jumped 0.5 percentage points—from 5.0% in December 2025 to 5.5% in January 2026. A year ago, the county’s rate was just 3.9%. The county has shed 1,529 jobs since January 2025.
Statewide Job Picture
The New Service of Florida reports that Florida added 23,800 private-sector jobs over the month, but the 12-month trend tells a more troubling story: the state is down by a net 9,000 positions over the past year.
While education, health services and manufacturing saw gains, every other major industry sector lost jobs over the past year:
- Financial activities shed 9,200 positions, all in finance and insurance. Real estate reported no change.
- Construction lost 8,800 jobs.
- Leisure and hospitality dropped 4,800 workers. Of those, 17,000 were tied to hotels and food service—offset somewhat by a gain of 12,900 jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation.
- Trade, transportation and utilities fell by 6,200, driven by a loss of 14,700 retail positions, though wholesale trade added 2,700 jobs, and transportation, warehousing and utilities gained 5,800.
Health care was the brightest spot, adding 38,000 positions over the last 12 months. Manufacturing, which gained 4,300 jobs over the month, posted a modest year-over-year increase of 800 positions.
On the government side, local governments added 3,000 workers over the past year, but state government lost 2,100 jobs, and federal government positions fell by 12,500.