Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 4.5% in August, a statistically significant one-month improvement, while payroll employment rose by 21,800 jobs, according to data released Friday in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ state employment report.

The monthly change moved the jobless rate down from 4.6% in July, but the latest rate remained above the 4.0% recorded in August 2025. The number of unemployed Floridians declined by about 12,100 in August to 502,411, while the civilian labor force contracted by about 5,700 to 11.12 million, the agency’s state labor-force table shows. Employment measured through the household survey increased by about 6,400.

That combination matters when interpreting the lower rate. A decline in unemployment accompanied the improvement, but a smaller labor force also helped pull the percentage down. The rate counts people without jobs who are actively seeking work as a share of the labor force; it does not count everyone outside employment.

Florida’s rate ranked 39th among the states in August, with 38 states posting lower rates and several states tied at the same levels, according to the agency’s seasonally adjusted state ranking. The national unemployment rate held at 4.1%, and Florida was one of eight states, along with the District of Columbia, where BLS identified a statistically significant monthly decline.

Payroll figures provided a more positive counterweight. Florida employers reported 10.052 million nonfarm jobs in August, up from 10.030 million in July and 9.993 million a year earlier. The agency’s establishment-survey table puts the annual increase at 59,000 jobs, or roughly 0.6%.

The gains were uneven across industries. The Florida Economy at a Glance series shows professional and business services added about 11,600 jobs in August, and education and health services added about 10,400. Government payrolls increased by about 5,200. Leisure and hospitality fell by about 3,900, information lost about 1,000, and manufacturing declined by about 900. Construction was essentially flat.

The same state series shows the longer-run divide. Education and health services employment was 2.5% above its August 2025 level, and professional and business services was 1.6% higher. Information employment was 2.6% lower than a year earlier, financial activities was down 2.1%, and government payrolls were 0.4% lower.

BLS cautions that the unemployment and payroll figures come from different surveys. The jobless rate is modeled largely from a household survey and assigns people by where they live. Payroll employment comes from a survey of employers and assigns jobs by where workplaces are located. The agency also labels August estimates preliminary and may revise them in the next monthly release.

For Florida policymakers, employers and job seekers, the report therefore offers a mixed but clearer signal: fewer residents were counted as unemployed and payrolls expanded, yet the unemployment rate remained half a percentage point higher than a year earlier and the labor force edged down.