Florida’s Worker Shortage Hits Key Industries

Experts are warning that a deepening skills gap is straining Florida’s construction, health care, and hospitality sectors even as the state adds an average of over 500 new residents every day.

Central Florida builders are already dealing with project delays and rising costs as contractors compete for a limited pool of qualified tradespeople. Florida’s construction sector shed 8,700 jobs in state data, while leisure and hospitality lost another 3,000 in the same reporting period.

Florida’s unemployment rate has climbed to the mid-4% range, up from the mid-3% range just a year ago after seven consecutive months of increases. Workforce experts say the problem runs deeper than vacancies—it’s a mismatch between the skills employers need and what Florida’s available labor pool can offer.

Three More Insurers Enter Florida Market

Florida Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky announced Wednesday that three new property and casualty insurers are entering the state’s market, bringing to 20 the number of new carriers since Florida enacted sweeping tort reforms.

The new companies—Builder Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, Frontline Insurance Reciprocal Exchange, and Wingsail Insurance Company—join a market where litigation has dropped sharply since the legislature overhauled assignment-of-benefits rules and lawsuit standards in 2022 and 2023. Wingsail, linked to Hippo Holdings via Spinnaker Insurance, will write multi-peril homeowners coverage statewide.

The new competition arrives as Florida homeowners still face some of the highest premiums in the nation, with rates remaining a persistent strain even as tort reform begins delivering savings. Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort, has also proposed a 2.6% rate cut for 2026 as it moves policies to the private market.

Court Halts Red Snapper Season

Florida anglers woke up Thursday to a gut punch: a federal court halted the season just one day before it was set to begin.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction Thursday, suspending the fishing permits that had authorized recreational red snapper seasons across four South Atlantic states. The lawsuit was filed May 5 by commercial fishing groups challenging the EFP process.

NOAA Fisheries confirmed the Exempted Fishing Permits are on hold until further court order, meaning South Atlantic waters remain closed for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Florida had secured an extended 2026 season under Trump’s EFP program, which gave state managers more local control over recreational seasons. The injunction puts that arrangement on hold with no clear resolution timeline.

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➤ Wakulla County: The historic Wakulla Education Center—formerly Shadeville High School, the only Black high school in the county from 1931 to the late 1960s—is at a crossroads. Public input is open through May 29. (More)

➤ Miami: Fire Rescue is getting ready to deploy extra crews and equipment ahead of Memorial Day weekend, warning that South Florida waterways get dangerously busy during the holiday and that accidents can happen fast. (More)

➤ Tallahassee: Gov. DeSantis signed nine more bills Thursday, pushing his 2026 signing total to nearly 100 new Florida laws. The latest batch touches a range of issues affecting everyday life around the state. (More)

➤ Sarasota: Trader Joe’s has confirmed it is opening a second location in Sarasota at 8199 S. Tamiami Trail, adding to the nearly 30 stores the popular grocer already operates across Florida. (More)

➤ Fort Myers: Nearly 20 years after 28-day-old Bryan Dos Santos Gomes was abducted, investigators say new information has surfaced from Tacoma, Washington, potentially reviving one of Florida’s most haunting missing-child cases. (More)

➤ Broward County: Three men were sentenced to federal prison for a $6.9 million Medicare fraud scheme where they billed for phony orthotic braces and paid illegal patient referrals before laundering the proceeds. (More)

➤ Jacksonville: The City Council is weighing a $35 million incentive package to attract the Culinary Institute of America to a new Downtown riverfront development, a move supporters say would be a major economic win. (See Rendering)

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➤ Florida baseball faces top-seeded Georgia in the SEC Tournament semifinals this afternoon, while Miami takes on No. 1 seed Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Both games kick off at 1 p.m. (More) 

➤ Meanwhile, Florida softball hosts Texas Tech this morning in Game 2 of the Gainesville Super Regional, followed by UCF playing UCLA this evening in the Los Angeles Super Regional. (See Schedule) 

➤ The Miami Marlins acquired outfielder Rece Hinds from the Reds in exchange for pitcher Zach McCambley. A Niceville native, Hinds played high school baseball at IMG Academy. (More)

➤ Gators center Rueben Chinyelu, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft and will return to UF for his senior season. They’ve now got 11 players back from a team that won the SEC regular-season title. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NBA | NHL | MLB | NCAAB | NCAASB | Soccer | WNBA | Golf

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➤ The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage kicks off Sunday from St. Augustine, site of America’s first Catholic Mass, connecting faith, history and national identity during the U.S. 250th anniversary year. (More)

➤ The Cordova Inn in downtown St. Pete has expanded from a cozy 30-room inn to a full 95-room destination, adding penthouse suites and a rooftop bar. (See Photo)

➤ Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando is bringing Warner Bros. Pictures’ film Sinners to life as an all-new haunted house experience this fall. (See Video)

➤ A jet ski worker in Fort Lauderdale rescued a dog struggling in open water this week—a quick-thinking save that turned into a feel-good story. (See Video)

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Does your town need a Trader Joe’s?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe
4. Already have one

Friday’s Results:

What’s your favorite meat for grilling?

1. All of them: 28%
2. Steak: 20%
3. Hamburgers: 16%
4. Hot dogs: 10%
5. Ribs: 10%
6. Chicken: 8%
7. Other: 8%

The idyllic, eerily perfect town of Seahaven in The Truman Show (1998) was filmed almost entirely in which real Florida planned community on the Panhandle’s Emerald Coast?

See the answer