5,856 Port St. Lucie residents were out of work and looking in August, 316 more than a year earlier. The county rate is 5.3%; Florida's is 4.6%.
Updated Oct. 31: the Bureau of Labor Statistics has revised August to 5%, with 5,859 residents unemployed. September’s rate fell to 4.7%; read our September story.
Port St. Lucie’s unemployment rate was 4.9% in August, up from 4.7% a year earlier. The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and are preliminary.
The city series counts 5,856 residents who were out of work and looking for a job. That is 316 more than in August 2025. The labor force was 118,435, almost unchanged from 118,553 a year before.
The rate eased from 5% in July. It peaked this year at 5.4% in January.
How the city compares
Port St. Lucie’s rate was lower than the county’s and its northern neighbor’s, level with Martin County’s and above the state’s. Every area was higher than a year earlier, by 0.2 to 0.3 points:
| Area | August 2026 | August 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Port St. Lucie | 4.9% | 4.7% |
| St. Lucie County | 5.3% | 5.0% |
| Martin County | 4.9% | 4.6% |
| Indian River County | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| Florida | 4.6% | 4.3% |
All the rates are not seasonally adjusted, so they rise and fall with the seasons. Comparing the same month a year apart, as above, removes most of that swing.
What the numbers can and cannot tell you
- Who counts as unemployed: people without a job who looked for one in the past four weeks. People who have stopped looking are not counted.
- Where people work does not matter. The figures are by where people live, so a Port St. Lucie resident who works in Stuart or West Palm Beach counts here.
- There is no October 2025 figure. The bureau says it did not collect data that month because of the federal government shutdown.
- August is preliminary. The bureau revises it with next month’s release.
What it means for you
- Out of work? Florida’s reemployment assistance is run by FloridaCommerce. Apply through its Reemployment Assistance Service Center.
- City jobs are posted on the City of Port St. Lucie careers page.
- Home values and rents move with the job market. Our home prices page tracks them for the city each month.
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