Unemployment rate
4.3%
-0.4 pp vs Aug
+0.1 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Tampa Bay economy by the numbers
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan area is shown here through Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County and Hernando County: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Largo, Spring Hill and New Port Richey. These are the official monthly and quarterly numbers for the metro's jobs, housing, wages and prices, each one dated and linked to its source, updated the day the agency publishes.
Unemployment rate
4.3%
Sep 2026 · +0.1 pp from a year earlier
Next metro jobs releaseDec 2, 202610:00 ETFull calendar →
Unemployment
4.3%
Sep 2026 · +0.1 pp y/y
Payrolls y/y
1.0%
Sep 2026 · +1.2 pp y/y
House prices y/y
1.9%
Q4 2024 · -4.6 pp y/y
Listing price
$385,398
Sep 2026 · -6.6% y/y
Weekly wages
$1,451
Q1 2026 · +5.3% y/y
CPI y/y
3.7%
Sep 2026 · +1.0 pp y/y
Jobs
Civilian labor force
1,706,261
+0.4% vs Aug
+0.3% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Nonfarm payroll employment
1,562.7K
-0.0% vs Aug
+1.0% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Payroll employment, year over year
1.0%
+0.1 pp vs Aug
+1.2 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Housing
Housing units authorized by building permits
1,934
-6.1% vs Aug
+22.4% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED
FHFA house price index (all transactions)
554.5
-0.9% vs Q3
+1.9% vs Q4 2023
Q4 2024 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED
House prices, year over year
1.9%
-1.3 pp vs Q3
-4.6 pp vs Q4 2023
Q4 2024 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Median listing price
$385,398
-1.2% vs Aug
-6.6% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Active listings
17,965
-0.2% vs Aug
-3.8% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Median days on market
76
+2.7% vs Aug
-3.8% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Wages
Average weekly wages, all covered employment
$1,451
+2.0% vs Q4
+5.3% vs Q1 2025
Q1 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED
Prices
Consumer prices, South region, year over year
3.7%
+0.3 pp vs Aug
+1.0 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Consumer Price Index, South region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Unemployment by county
| County | Rate | Year ago | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough County | 4.3% | 4.2% | +0.1 pp |
| Pinellas County | 4.1% | 4.0% | +0.1 pp |
| Pasco County | 4.7% | 4.6% | +0.1 pp |
| Hernando County | 5.0% | 4.9% | +0.1 pp |
Sep 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED.
Why Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay led Florida's post-2020 in-migration and saw one of the sharpest listing-price rises in the country; the active-listings and days-on-market series show how far the market has cooled. The South region CPI stands in for prices; the BLS Tampa index is bi-monthly.
Questions readers ask
- What is the unemployment rate in Tampa Bay?
- The Tampa Bay unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics figure for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan statistical area, not seasonally adjusted, published about six weeks after the month ends. The headline at the top of this page is the latest print; the county table shows how Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County and Hernando County compare.
- How many jobs does the Tampa Bay have?
- Nonfarm payroll employment counts jobs on employer payrolls in the metro, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey. The year-over-year line shows whether hiring is accelerating or slowing; it is the cleanest single read on the local labor market.
- Are Tampa Bay home prices going up or down?
- Two measures are shown. The FHFA house price index tracks repeat sales of the same homes each quarter, so it measures price change rather than the mix of what sold. The Realtor.com median listing price is the monthly asking price of homes on the market; with active listings and days on market it shows how the market feels to a buyer today.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- Every series is a public federal statistic (BLS, Census Bureau, FHFA) or Realtor.com's monthly housing inventory, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. Each figure links to its source series. MarketIntelLabs computes the year-over-year changes and writes the fact sheet; nothing on this page is estimated or modelled.
Fact sheet
Every figure above, as one dated sentence each. This is the text our desk writes from; a local newsroom may quote it with attribution to the source named in each line.
- Tampa Bay unemployment rate: 4.3% in September 2026, up 0.1 percentage points from 4.2% in September 2025; prior reading 4.7% (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay civilian labor force: 1,706,261 in September 2026, up 0.3% from 1,701,037 in September 2025; prior reading 1,699,568 (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay nonfarm payroll employment: 1,562.7 thousand in September 2026, up 1.0% from 1,547.7 thousand in September 2025; prior reading 1,562.9 thousand (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay payroll employment, year over year: 1.0% in September 2026, up 1.2 percentage points from -0.2% in September 2025; prior reading 0.9% (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay housing units authorized by building permits: 1,934 in September 2026, up 22.4% from 1,580 in September 2025; prior reading 2,060 (August 2026). Source: Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay FHFA house price index (all transactions): 554.5 in Q4 2024, up 1.9% from 544.3 in Q4 2023; prior reading 559.6 (Q3 2024). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay house prices, year over year: 1.9% in Q4 2024, down 4.6 percentage points from 6.4% in Q4 2023; prior reading 3.1% (Q3 2024). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay median listing price: $385,398 in September 2026, down 6.6% from $412,450 in September 2025; prior reading $390,000 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay active listings: 17,965 in September 2026, down 3.8% from 18,674 in September 2025; prior reading 17,996 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay median days on market: 76 in September 2026, down 3.8% from 79 in September 2025; prior reading 74 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay average weekly wages, all covered employment: $1,451 in Q1 2026, up 5.3% from $1,378 in Q1 2025; prior reading $1,422 (Q4 2025). Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Tampa Bay consumer prices, South region, year over year: 3.7% in September 2026, up 1.0 percentage point from 2.7% in September 2025; prior reading 3.4% (August 2026). Source: BLS Consumer Price Index, South region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Hillsborough County unemployment rate: 4.3% in September 2026, up 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Pinellas County unemployment rate: 4.1% in September 2026, up 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Pasco County unemployment rate: 4.7% in September 2026, up 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Hernando County unemployment rate: 5.0% in September 2026, up 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
Fact sheet id cca6df503591 · data through Sep 2026
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