Wednesday's Afternoon Update | 4/21/2021 Florida's labor force has decreased since the pandemic Florida’s unemployment rate is dropping, but there are still some job openings that cannot be filled. Florida’s unemployment rate dropped from its pandemic high of 14.2% in May 2020, to 4.7% in March, 2021. That current rate falls below the national average of 6%. There are some different reasons the unemployment rate is dropping, but some jobs are struggling to be filled. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, hundreds of thousands of people left the labor force entirely since the pandemic. More from First Coast News. Jacksonville, Puerto Rico port leaders to sign ‘Memorandum of Understanding’