Miami's jobless rate was 2.4% in August, down from 2.7% a year earlier, with about 4,970 more residents working. Florida's rate was 4.6%.
The city of Miami’s unemployment rate was 2.4% in August, down from 2.7% in August 2025. About 6,362 city residents were out of work and looking for a job, roughly 800 fewer than a year earlier.
The figures are the preliminary August estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics program, which publishes a series for the city as well as the county. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted, so the fair comparison is with the same month a year earlier.
Miami against its neighbors
Miami’s rate was lower than Miami-Dade County’s, and well under the state and national rates. Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties were all higher.
| Area | August 2026 | August 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| City of Miami | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| Miami-Dade County | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| Monroe County | 3.3% | 3.0% |
| United States | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Broward County | 4.4% | 4.0% |
| Florida | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Palm Beach County | 4.6% | 4.3% |
All rates are not seasonally adjusted. Sources: BLS series for Miami-Dade County, Monroe County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Florida and the United States.
Miami and Miami-Dade both moved against the regional trend. Their rates fell 0.3 points over the year. Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties rose, and so did Florida as a whole, from 4.3% to 4.6%.
The numbers behind the rate
In the city of Miami in August, according to the BLS:
- 265,804 people were in the labor force, up from 261,654 a year earlier.
- 259,442 people had jobs, up from 254,476.
- 6,362 people were unemployed, down from 7,178.
The labor force counts people who have a job or are looking for one. The unemployment rate is the share of the labor force without a job and looking for one. These are counts of Miami residents, wherever they work. They are not counts of the jobs located in the city.
The fall came from more people working, not from people leaving the labor force. About 4,966 more residents had jobs than a year earlier, and the labor force grew by about 4,150.
Across Miami-Dade County, 1,446,920 people were in the labor force in August and 38,626 were unemployed, down from 43,182 a year earlier.
The past year, month by month
Miami’s rate moved between 2.2% and 2.8% over the past 13 months.
| Month | City of Miami rate |
|---|---|
| August 2025 | 2.7% |
| September 2025 | 2.7% |
| October 2025 | not published |
| November 2025 | 2.4% |
| December 2025 | 2.2% |
| January 2026 | 2.4% |
| February 2026 | 2.5% |
| March 2026 | 2.7% |
| April 2026 | 2.8% |
| May 2026 | 2.3% |
| June 2026 | 2.6% |
| July 2026 | 2.2% |
| August 2026 | 2.4% (preliminary) |
The BLS shows no estimate for October 2025. Rates are not seasonally adjusted, so some of the month-to-month movement is the normal seasonal pattern.
What it means for you
If you are looking for work in Miami, fewer residents are competing for jobs than a year ago, and the city’s rate is about half the state’s. The figure says nothing about wages or the cost of living, which is where many Miami households feel the squeeze. For that side, see our pages on home prices and property taxes.
The BLS will revise the August figure when it publishes September’s local estimates. We will update this story then.
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