FLORIDA – The unemployment rate in Northeast Florida rose to 4.9% in July 2026, according to a Florida Department of Commerce release, modestly higher than a year earlier and slightly above June’s figure.
The department reported the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area had a labor force of 847,772 in July, with 805,825 people employed and 41,947 unemployed, producing the 4.9% not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. That compares with a 4.8% rate in June 2026 and 4.3% in July 2025.
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Statewide, the Florida Department of Commerce said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.6% in July, down from 4.7% in June but up 0.7 percentage point from July 2025. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1% for the month, the release said.
The department’s release cautioned that local area figures are not seasonally adjusted and are based on household surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Estimates are revised monthly and are benchmarked annually against state reemployment tax records, the release said.
The rise in Northeast Florida’s unemployment rate comes amid mixed statewide job trends. Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was reported at about 10.04 million in July 2026, a gain of roughly 41,000 jobs over the year, the department said. Industries showing over-the-year job growth statewide included education and health services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality, while some sectors — including financial activities and total government — posted job losses.
Local officials and workforce agencies often point to employment shifts in specific industries, seasonal hiring patterns and labor force changes as drivers of month-to-month movement in metro-area rates, the release noted.