Employment in Florida’s largest counties increased in most areas from March 2024 to March 2025, according to new data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of the 25 largest counties with published figures, 20 saw employment gains during this period.
Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee stated, “Pasco and St. Johns counties had the largest over-the-year increases in employment, with gains of 2.2 percent each.” Pinellas County experienced the largest decline among these counties, with a decrease of 1.4 percent.
Miami-Dade County recorded the highest employment level among Florida’s large counties, with 1,283,000 employed as of March 2025. The combined total for the state’s 27 largest counties represented nearly 88 percent of all covered employment in Florida. Nationally, the biggest counties account for about three-quarters of covered jobs across the United States.
All large Florida counties with available data reported higher average weekly wages compared to one year earlier. “Duval had the largest gain (+6.8 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other 23 Florida large counties ranged from 6.7 percent to 1.8 percent,” Lee said.
Only two of Florida’s largest counties posted average weekly wages above the national average of $1,589: Miami-Dade at $1,708 and another county not specified in this release. Marion County had one of the lowest averages at $1,032 per week.
Data were also compiled for smaller Florida counties—those with fewer than 75,000 employees—showing that all fell below the national wage average. Indian River led these small counties with an average weekly wage of $1,306; Holmes County was lowest at $773 per week.
Across all Florida’s 67 counties, nine reported weekly wages under $900; twenty-one were between $900 and $1,024; thirteen ranged from $1,025 to $1,149; ten fell between $1,150 and $1,274; and fourteen registered wages at or above $1,275 per week.
Additional tables provide detailed QCEW data for states and more information is available on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website (https://www.bls.gov/cew/).
The next update on county employment and wages covering second quarter 2025 is scheduled for December 3, 2025.
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