Industries in Miami, Florida

Trade, transportation and utilities is the largest employer group in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area, with 324.9 thousand jobs in August 2026 (preliminary), ahead of education and health services and professional and business services.

The BLS Economy at a Glance page for Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall puts total nonfarm employment at 1,349.4 thousand in August 2026, a preliminary figure, and the area unemployment rate at 2.7 percent for the same month, also preliminary (BLS Economy at a Glance, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall). The BLS area, named Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, reaches beyond the City of Miami, and the job counts are not seasonally adjusted.

The table carries the local insight. Financial Activities in the Miami area fell 5.0 percent over the 12 months to August 2026 (preliminary), the steepest drop of any supersector on the BLS page, even though the Miami-Dade Beacon Council still lists finance as a target industry (BLS). Professional and business services and education and health services were the Miami-area groups adding jobs fastest.

PortMiami handled 8,564,225 cruise passengers in its last fiscal year, the most in its history, and Miami-Dade County credits the seaport with $61 billion a year in economic impact and 340,078 jobs.

The PortMiami passenger count rose from 8,233,056 the year before, a 4.02% increase, according to Miami-Dade County (PortMiami, Miami-Dade County). The port page describes PortMiami as among the busiest container ports in the United States, and the same PortMiami page gives two cargo figures: 1,115,058 TEUs in its headline numbers and more than 1,120,913 TEUs in its shipping section. The two official figures on one page differ, so a PortMiami cargo number should name which one it uses.

Cruise and cargo split across two Miami industries guides. The cruise and tourism guide covers PortMiami passengers and the visitor economy, and the logistics and trade guide covers PortMiami containers and Miami's trade with Latin America. PortMiami's figures are published by Miami-Dade County on its own site (Miami-Dade County), and the page calls the port among Miami-Dade County's largest economic engines.

Miami International Airport ranked first among U.S. airports for international freight in 2025, carrying 3,405,322 tons of freight, 2,889,025 tons of it international.

MIA's final 2025 rankings also put it first among U.S. airports for total freight and second for international passengers (Miami International Airport). The Miami-Dade Aviation Department says MIA offers more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other U.S. airport and credits it with approximately 60 percent of all international visitors to Florida.

The airport puts the annual economic impact of MIA and the Miami-Dade County general aviation airports at $212 billion, with MIA and related aviation industries contributing nearly 946,000 direct, indirect, induced and related jobs (Miami International Airport). MIA is funded through airport-generated revenue such as airline fees, concessions, parking and bonds, and does not receive direct funding from local taxpayer dollars. MIA sits on 3,230 acres near downtown Miami, is operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and is the property of Miami-Dade County government, so its figures are county figures.

Finance and tech in Miami are smaller employers than trade or health care: Financial Activities had 96.7 thousand Miami-area jobs and Information 21.6 thousand in August 2026 (preliminary), both down over the year.

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the official economic development organization for Miami-Dade County, says more than 60 banks operate in Brickell, making it the second-largest international banking center in the United States after New York, and that approximately 500 fintech companies are located in the area (Miami-Dade Beacon Council). It also cites 2,500 startups and 90,000 jobs in the Greater Miami startup ecosystem. These are the Beacon Council's own figures, not government counts. The Beacon Council lists its Miami office at 80 SW 8th St, Unit 2400, phone 305-579-1300.

The BLS series gives the counterweight. Miami-area Financial Activities employment fell 5.0 percent in the year to August 2026 (preliminary), and Information fell 1.8 percent, while Professional and Business Services grew 2.5 percent to 221.3 thousand (BLS Economy at a Glance). The Miami financial services guide and the Miami tech guide go deeper on Brickell banking and on startups.

Pay is where Miami finance stands out. In the first quarter of 2026, private finance and insurance employers in Miami-Dade County had 6,751 establishments, 54,496 jobs in March 2026 and an average weekly wage of $6,794 for the quarter, against $1,797 across all Miami-Dade County industries (BLS QCEW, Miami-Dade County). That first-quarter finance average is far above the countywide figure, so a Miami finance salary quoted from it should name the quarter it comes from.

Jackson Memorial Hospital, at 1611 NW 12th Avenue in Miami, is the Jackson Health System hospital that serves as the major teaching facility for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Jackson Memorial is open 24 hours and answers at 305-585-1111 (Jackson Health System). The Public Health Trust has had a basic affiliation agreement with the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine since 1952, supplemented by an annual operating agreement. Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial is described as the most renowned Level 1 trauma center in Miami-Dade County, and the hospital has opened a new emergency room with a new entrance and parking garage.

One number on the Jackson Memorial page does not agree with itself: the page says the hospital has more than 1,550 licensed beds in one paragraph and 1,500 licensed beds in another (Jackson Health System). Education and health services is the second-largest Miami-area employer group, with 229.6 thousand jobs in August 2026 (preliminary), up 2.0 percent over the year (BLS). In the BLS QCEW count for the first quarter of 2026, private health care and social assistance in Miami-Dade County had 17,125 establishments, 180,263 jobs in March 2026 and an average weekly wage of $1,431 for the quarter (BLS QCEW, Miami-Dade County). The Miami healthcare industry guide covers the hospital systems in more detail.

Two public doors exist for a Miami business: the City of Miami Department of Economic Innovation and Development for city matters, and the Miami-Dade Beacon Council for countywide relocation and expansion help.

The City of Miami department, headed by Keith A. Carswell, lists three core goals: Empowering Innovation through smart city projects, Advancing Business through resources, incentives and infrastructure, and Building Talent through workforce development (City of Miami Department of Economic Innovation and Development). The City of Miami site also carries a Guide to Opening a Business in The City of Miami, the Business Tax Receipt (BTR), the Certificate of Use (CU) and a Small Business Clinic, and the city answers at 311 or 305-468-5900 from the Miami Riverside Center, 444 SW 2nd Ave.

The order of City of Miami licenses matters. The City of Miami guide puts the Certificate of Use first, applied for only after any construction on the space is finished, and the Business Tax Receipt second, warning that the process can take several months from beginning to end (City of Miami Guide to Opening a Business). It also tells new owners to read the guide before signing any lease, because property owners may or may not check the zoning category, and it strongly recommends meeting the City of Miami zoning department first.

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council works at county scale. It supports businesses relocating to or expanding in Greater Miami and lists its target industries as aviation and aerospace, finance, creative industries, life sciences and health care, technology, trade and logistics, and the blue and green economy (Miami-Dade Beacon Council).

Five Miami industries guides go deeper: cruise and tourism, logistics and trade, financial services, tech, and healthcare, each matched below to the question it answers.

The Miami economy section adds guides on major employers, PortMiami and Miami International Airport for readers who want company names and the airport and port as places to work. Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Miami-Dade County, Miami International Airport, Jackson Health System and BLS websites.