St. Petersburg's jobless rate fell to 3.9% in September from 4.2% in August, level with a year ago. Pinellas County was 4.1%, Florida 4.2% and the U.S. 4.0%.
St. Petersburg’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in September, according to preliminary federal figures. That is down from 4.2% in August and the same as in September 2025.
It is the city’s lowest monthly rate of 2026 so far.
The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics for St. Petersburg. They are not seasonally adjusted, so the fair comparison is with the same month a year earlier. September’s numbers are preliminary and can be revised next month.
The numbers
The bureau’s estimates for the city:
| September 2025 | September 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 3.9% | 3.9% |
| People unemployed | 5,762 | 5,849 |
| Labor force | 148,967 | 148,336 |
That is 87 more people out of work and looking for a job than a year earlier. The labor force, the people working or looking for work, shrank by 631 over the same year, so the rate held steady.
Over the month, the number of unemployed people fell by 358, from 6,207 in August, the bureau’s unemployed series shows. The labor force series rose by 454 in the same month, from 147,882.
There is no October 2025 figure. The bureau marks that month “data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations,” the federal government shutdown.
How the city compares
St. Petersburg sat below the county, the state and the nation in September, on the same not seasonally adjusted basis:
- St. Petersburg: 3.9%, the same as a year earlier
- Pinellas County: 4.1%, up from 4.0%
- Hillsborough County: 4.3%, up from 4.2%
- Florida: 4.2%, the same as a year earlier
- United States: 4.0%, down from 4.3%
Across Pinellas County, the bureau counted 20,198 people unemployed in September, out of a labor force of 494,767. A year earlier the county had 19,892 unemployed out of 496,851.
What it means for you
The local job market looks much as it did a year ago. The rate is steady, while slightly fewer people are in the labor force.
Last winter the city’s rate rose after September. It climbed to 4.4% in November and 4.5% in January, so a low September figure does not settle where this winter will land.
The bureau counts people as unemployed only if they have no job and looked for one in the past four weeks. People who have stopped looking are not counted.
October’s figures for the city are due in late November. We will update this story when they are published.
Have your say