Employment by Industry
Last Updated: May 6th, 2026
Summary
- The seasonally-adjusted number of jobs in the Southwest Florida coastal counties totaled 546,200 in March 2026, down 9,000 jobs (1.6 percent) from March 2025.
- Only two industries in the Southwest Florida coastal counties gained jobs from March 2025 to March 2026: Education and Health Services (up 1800 jobs) and Local Government (up 300 jobs).
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA reported 312,700 seasonally-adjusted jobs in March 2026, down 4,000 jobs (1.3 percent) from the same month last year.
- The total number of seasonally-adjusted jobs in the Naples-Marco Island MSA was 175,100 in March 2026, down 3,700 jobs (2.1 percent) from March 2025.
- The Punta Gorda MSA had 58,800 seasonally-adjusted jobs in March 2026, down 1,200 jobs (2.0 percent) from March 2025.
About the Data
The chart above provides employment data collected from the Current Employment Statistics (CES), a monthly survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CES, sometimes referred to as the "establishment survey", interviews over 100,000 businesses and government agencies each month and provides estimates on employment, hours and earnings at the industry level. The total number of jobs is seasonally-adjusted by the Regional Economic Research Institute. All other industry level data is not seasonally-adjusted.
Unlike the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), employment data in the CES represents the number of jobs rather than the number of workers. Therefore, a person working for two different establishments would be counted twice (unlike the LAUS where they'll be counted once). Furthermore, employment in the CES represents the total number of workers on establishment payrolls that received pay for the pay period including the 12th of the month. This includes part-time, full-time and temporary employees, as well as employees on paid leave. All data is not seasonally-adjusted, and is updated on a monthly basis.
