Florida Industries: The Statewide Guides

Trade, transportation and utilities is Florida's largest industry group with 1,989.6 thousand jobs in August 2026, followed by professional and business services and by education and health services, in preliminary BLS figures (BLS).

Florida had 10,051.6 thousand nonfarm jobs in August 2026, seasonally adjusted and preliminary, 0.6 percent more than a year earlier, and the Florida unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, down from 4.7 percent in March 2026 (BLS Florida Economy at a Glance). The growth is uneven. Education and health services rose 2.5 percent over the year while Florida financial activities fell 2.1 percent and information fell 2.6 percent (BLS).

Spending tells a similar story for Florida. Current-dollar personal consumption expenditures grew 7.0 percent in Florida in 2025, the fastest of any state, with health care and housing and utilities the leading contributors, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The Florida healthcare industry 2026 guide, the Florida construction industry 2026 guide, the Florida logistics and warehousing 2026 guide and the Florida banking industry overview cover four of these sectors in depth.

A note on the numbers: the August 2026 Florida figures are marked preliminary, and when the table was read on October 15, 2026 it still ended at August (BLS). The QCEW counts used below are 2025 annual averages for private Florida employers, a different survey from the monthly table (BLS QCEW).

Florida aerospace product and parts makers averaged 35,063 jobs at 576 establishments in 2025, with average annual pay of $131,977, about 1.8 times the $72,719 average across all Florida private employers (BLS QCEW).

Space Florida says it all began with a rocket launch in 1950 and that the industry started on the Space Coast, and in 2006 three existing Florida state space entities combined to form Space Florida as a public corporation, under a state statute that opened more creative financing options and infrastructure access for aerospace ventures (Space Florida). Its stated missions include increasing investment in Florida's aerospace ecosystem and maximizing the capacity of Florida's spaceport system (Space Florida).

Five guides cover this cluster from different sides: the Florida aerospace industry guide for the history and the big employers, the Florida aerospace cluster 2026 guide for where the work sits now, the Florida defense industry guide for military contracting, the Florida advanced manufacturing in 2026 guide for factories that make aircraft parts, electronics and other precision goods, and the Florida tech corridor guide for research and technology employers.

Florida had 44,400 commercial farms and ranches on 9.7 million acres in 2024, averaging 218 acres, and their 2023 cash receipts totaled $9.24 billion, up 4 percent from $8.88 billion the year before (FDACS).

Crops earn most of that money. All crops made up 76 percent of Florida cash receipts in 2023, led by floriculture at 13.1 percent and sugarcane at 9.8 percent, while the FDACS cash receipts table lists cattle and calves at 8.4 percent and milk at 5.5 percent; the same page's text instead gives 8.4 percent for cattle and calves together with dairy products (FDACS). In 2024 Florida produced 34 percent of the U.S. value of Valencia oranges, 18 percent of floriculture sales, 17 percent of fresh market tomatoes and 14 percent of strawberries (FDACS).

Farm payrolls in the QCEW are small next to the land in use. Florida orange groves reported 1,043 covered jobs at 156 establishments in 2025 and beef cattle ranching 1,285 jobs at 350 establishments (BLS QCEW). The Florida citrus industry history guide covers the groves, and the Florida cattle ranching history guide covers the ranches.

One dated figure to watch: the FDACS overview, read October 15, 2026, still reports 2023 cash receipts and 2024 farm counts, so later Florida farm figures may differ from those shown on that page (FDACS).

Florida deep sea passenger transportation employers (NAICS 483112) averaged 13,669 jobs at 76 establishments in 2025, boat builders 9,095 jobs at 344 establishments, and fishing employers (NAICS 1141) 348 covered jobs, in BLS QCEW counts (BLS QCEW).

Deep sea passenger transportation jobs in Florida averaged $131,936 a year in 2025, while boat building paid an average of $64,195 (BLS QCEW).

The Florida cruise industry guide covers the ports and the lines, the Florida marine services industry guide covers boat building, repair, marinas and dealers, and the Florida commercial fishing guide covers the fleets and what they land.

Florida amusement and theme parks averaged 86,614 jobs at 188 establishments in 2025, more than twice the aerospace product count, at an average pay of $47,089 (BLS QCEW).

Florida motion picture and video production employers (NAICS 512110) averaged 5,894 jobs at 1,398 establishments in 2025, with average annual pay of $99,465 (BLS QCEW). The broader leisure and hospitality group held 1,341.7 thousand Florida jobs in August 2026, preliminary (BLS). The Florida film and TV production guide covers the screen industry in Florida.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection counts 28 phosphate mines in Florida covering more than 450,000 acres; eleven are currently active, ten are 100 percent reclaimed and released from reclamation obligations, and the rest are not started or are shut down (Florida DEP). Florida mining and logging together held 5.7 thousand jobs in August 2026, preliminary and not seasonally adjusted (BLS). The Florida phosphate mining history guide covers the mines and their reclamation.

The Florida industries section holds 16 statewide guides, matched below to the question each answers and one key figure from BLS, FDACS, Space Florida or Florida DEP.