The Florida Daily recently reported on the top counties in the state with the most construction worker job losses.
As a follow-up, here is a list of the top 10 counties in Florida that have seen manufacturing job cuts.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on county manufacturing employment from 2024 to 2025 identifies counties with the largest declines in manufacturing employment.
Jackson County led the state with a 24.41% decline in manufacturing employment between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2025. The county saw employment decrease from 1,684 in the 2024 quarterly report to 1,273 in the 2025 quarterly report.
Bradford County ranked second, with manufacturing employment decreasing by 12.70% in quarterly jobs from 2024 to 2025. The county reported a decline from 858 jobs in the quarter ending in 2024 to 749 jobs in the quarter ending in 2025.
Taylor County was third, with manufacturing employment down 6.44%. The county’s quarterly employment in 2025 decreased from 2,952 in 2024 to 2,762 in 2025.
Suwannee County ranks fourth, with manufacturing employment decreasing by 5.93% between the 2024 and 2025 quarters. Employment decreased in the county, from 5,746 to 5,405.
Sarasota County ranked fifth, with manufacturing employment down 5.84%. Quarterly employment in the county decreased from 27,029 in 2024 to 25,450 in 2025.
Hendry County (No. 6) reported a 4.61% decline in manufacturing employment, followed by Gilchrist County (No. 7) with 4.49%, Gadsden County (No. 8) with 4.03%, Pinellas County (No. 9) with 4.02%, and Volusia County (No. 10) with 3.58%.
Volusia reported a 3.58% decrease, the lowest of the top 10 Florida counties analyzed.
“When 411 manufacturing jobs are lost in Jackson County or more than 4,000 jobs are lost in Pinellas, we are talking about workers who may have spent decades building their careers in these industries,” said online HR platform Techr.
