March brought a welcome shift in Florida's labor market story. The state added 28,100 nonfarm payroll jobs over the month, making Florida one of only three states in the country to record a statistically significant employment increase. Texas and Tennessee were the other two. That kind of company is worth noting: Florida's job creation engine showed real momentum in March, and it stands out at a time when most states were holding flat.
The unemployment rate came in at 4.7%, which is 1.1 points above March 2025 and reflects the broader labor force expansion Florida has experienced over the past year. More people are in the workforce and actively looking for work, which naturally puts some upward pressure on the unemployment rate even as hiring picks up. The national rate in March was 4.3%, and Florida is running modestly above that, consistent with the state's faster population and labor force growth relative to the rest of the country.
The most important number this month is the payroll gain. At 28,100 new jobs in a single month, Florida is demonstrating that underlying demand for labor remains real across the state. Education and Health Services continues to lead year-over-year growth, and the March bounce in overall payrolls is a positive signal heading into spring. The sector breakdowns below show where the hiring activity is concentrated and what it means for Sales, IT, Operations, and Hospitality professionals.
Professional and Business Services posted its strongest reading in the trailing twelve months in March, climbing to 1,629,000. That is a meaningful recovery from the November and December trough and puts the sector above its April 2025 level. The turnaround on the chart is clear: after a steady decline through mid-2025 and a sharp drop in the fall, the sector has recovered strongly in the first quarter of 2026.
For sales hiring, March brought noticeably more activity than the prior two months. The national JOLTS data confirmed that hires in professional and business services increased meaningfully in March. That national hiring uptick is consistent with what Veritus Talent is seeing in Florida: more job orders opening in B2B sales, account management, and revenue operations roles, particularly in the technology, healthcare, and logistics verticals.
The Information sector edged lower in March to 148,700, the lowest point in the trailing twelve months. The sector has been in a sustained decline from the 153,000 to 154,000 range of early 2025, with the sharpest drop concentrated in the September through October window. There has been no sustained recovery since then, and March confirms the sector has not yet found a floor.
Nationally, BLS confirmed that Information employment continued to trend down in the first quarter of 2026. In Florida, the contraction is concentrated in telecommunications, media, and data processing. The active part of the IT labor market remains the skills-driven segment: cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, AI implementation, and data engineering roles continue to see genuine employer demand across the Tampa Bay, Miami, and Orlando markets.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities bounced back in March to 1,988,600, the strongest reading in the trailing twelve months and a meaningful recovery from the December low of 1,981,900. The chart shows the sector retracing most of the ground lost in the second half of 2025. Nationally, BLS confirmed that transportation and warehousing was one of the drivers of job gains in March, adding to the positive Florida picture.
Florida's port and logistics infrastructure is showing signs of renewed activity heading into spring. Port volumes at Miami and Jacksonville tend to pick up in the March through May window, generating incremental hiring demand for operations leadership, logistics coordinators, and supply chain management roles. Employers in this space are more willing to make permanent placements at the manager and director level when they can see a clear demand trend ahead of them.
Hospitality was the standout sector in March, with Leisure and Hospitality employment climbing to 1,330,700, the highest reading in the trailing twelve months. Spring break and peak Florida travel season are typically a catalyst for March hiring, and this year that seasonal lift is delivering real payroll gains. The chart shows the March recovery clearly against the gradual decline that defined the sector through most of 2025.
This is an encouraging sign for Florida's hospitality industry. The sector spent most of 2025 in a period of normalization after the post-pandemic surge, but March's numbers suggest there is underlying demand that can push employment higher when travel volumes align. Orlando's theme park and convention calendar and Tampa Bay's events and sports infrastructure are both running strong this spring. For hospitality hiring, this is the right window to move on open roles in food and beverage leadership, hotel operations, and property management.