Lee County unemployment fell to 4.8 percent and Collier to 4.7 percent in September, and both counties now have more residents working than a year ago

Lee County's unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent in September and Collier County's fell to 4.7 percent, according to the Florida Department of Commerce's September release, published October 16. In August the rates were 5.1 percent in Lee and 5.0 percent in Collier.

Both counties are now exactly where they were in September 2025. Florida as a whole stood at 4.2 percent on the same not seasonally adjusted basis, and 4.4 percent seasonally adjusted.

How many Lee and Collier residents are working

Lee County counted 358,848 employed residents in September, 3,535 more than a year earlier, from a labor force of 376,856. The number of unemployed residents fell by 1,191 from August to 18,008.

Collier County counted 173,928 employed residents, 967 more than a year earlier, from a labor force of 182,462. Its unemployed count fell by 609 from August to 8,534.

That is a change from the summer. In July both counties had fewer residents working than a year before, as this desk reported in August. In September both are ahead of last year.

Jobs at Southwest Florida employers

The state's separate count of payroll jobs, seasonally adjusted, shows the two metro areas moving at different speeds. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, which is Lee County, had 317,900 jobs in September, up 4,200 or 1.3 percent from a year earlier. The Naples-Marco Island area, which is Collier County, had 177,200, up 500 or 0.3 percent. Florida's jobs grew 0.6 percent over the year.

Where Lee and Collier rank in Florida

Among Florida's 67 counties, ranked from the highest rate down, Lee placed 33rd and Collier tied for 34th. Taylor County had the highest rate at 7.7 percent and Miami-Dade the lowest at 1.9 percent.

The county numbers are preliminary and are not adjusted for the season, so the fairest comparison is with the same month last year. The state says October figures are due November 20.