📉 Local unemployment up to 4.2%
🏭 New factories bringing 600+ jobs
🎓 Workforce training programs expand countywide
FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County’s economy faces a paradox: while specific industries cut back and unemployment ticks up to levels not seen since the pandemic recovery, local leaders say a combination of new industry investment, workforce training, and military talent pipelines puts the region in a stronger position than many parts of Florida.
The Florida Department of Commerce’s August 2025 report pegged the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 3.8%, up slightly from 3.7% in July and 3.4% one year earlier.
The increase leaves 424,000 Floridians jobless out of a labor force of 11.2 million. The national rate stood higher at 4.3%.
In Okaloosa County, the jobless rate rose to 4.2%, up from 3.9% in July and 3.4% a year ago. This matches unemployment levels not seen since 2021, as Florida emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. That translates to approximately 4,333 people unemployed, compared to 3,546 in August last year.
Both Okaloosa and Walton Counties sit towards the bottom when it comes to unemployment rates, as Miami-Dade County sits at the state’s lowest (2.9%), while Sumter County, a county west of Orlando that contains The Villages, has the highest (7.6%)
The Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin metro area was one of just five in Florida to post year-over-year job losses, down 1,100 positions (–0.8%).
“It’s higher than we’d like to see, but it’s not unique to Okaloosa County,” said Nathan Sparks, executive director of the One Okaloosa Economic Development Council. “We are still among the lowest in the state. What we’re experiencing is very much tied to national economic pressures.”
While Florida added nearly 100,000 jobs year-over-year (+1.0%), the August data revealed pockets of weakness concentrated in the services and logistics sectors.
Professional and Business Services: –300 jobs statewide over the year (–0.1%).
Leisure and Hospitality: Overall down –5,500 jobs month-to-month (–0.4%).
Transportation and Logistics:
Local Government (excluding education): –4,800 jobs in August (–2.7%). This comes off the back of reports that Florida’s Department of Governmental Efficiency plans to remove about 900 jobs and sunset 70 state boards and commissions.
These cuts align with Sparks’ comments about businesses struggling with inflation and rising borrowing costs, which are some of the main drivers of increasing unemployment.
“The cost of borrowing is expensive,” he said. “Businesses had hoped there would be moderation in interest rates by now. Often, you’re forced to pare back staff — it’s one of the few costs you can actually control.”
Tourism’s seasonal decline also contributed to Okaloosa’s numbers, as summer visitors depart and seasonal employment contracts expire.
Florida’s broader economy remains resilient. Nine of ten major industries reported a rise in jobs year-over-year, including:
“These numbers reflect why we continue to see defense, aerospace, and technology companies in Okaloosa County still hiring,” Sparks said. “It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, ‘I need five engineers’ or ‘I need ten technicians’ at our monthly roundtables. That rhythm hasn’t changed at all.”
Sparks also credited career and technical education with helping prepare residents to enter the workforce prepared, noting the North Okaloosa campus of Okaloosa Technical College, which will serve students in the area and will bring skilled training closer to Shoal River Ranch, home to nearly 600 new jobs within the next several years.
Sparks also noted Northwest Florida State College’s welding and precision machining programs, which were created at the request of local manufacturers.
Last, but not least, Sparks credited the Okaloosa County School District’s Career Technical Education programs, which span across multiple sectors, including hospitality, cosmetology, technology, and cybersecurity.
“That is a needle mover with respect to preparing young people for the careers that exist here,” Sparks said. “The key is making sure these programs are always aligned with available opportunities, and with opportunities that may be coming in the future.”
Despite the near-term softness in services, Sparks remained hopeful as major industrial projects are set to reshape the county’s economy.
On Tuesday, OneOkaloosa EDC announced that Sims-Lohman, a Cincinnati-based provider of kitchen cabinets and countertops, has recently purchased a 65,000-square-foot facility in Crestview. The facility is scheduled to open on October 7 and will create 90 new jobs in the area upon full operationalization.
In the long-term vision, Williams International and Central Moloney, Inc. have announced large-scale operational facilities at the Shoal River Gigasite. Once both of those facilities are online, Sparks says that over 600 new jobs will be created in Okaloosa County.
During our interview, Sparks told Mid Bay News that Williams International is set to break ground on its new facility on October 30. Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, CEO Greg Williams, and other state and local dignitaries are expected to be in attendance.
“These are good news stories that hopefully the individuals who are on the sidelines looking for opportunity can access,” Sparks said.
A summer survey by One Okaloosa found members skeptical of the national economy, mixed about Florida’s outlook, but more optimistic locally.
“We feel better about our hometown, our home county, than we do about the rest of the overall macroeconomic structure,” Sparks said. “That’s encouraging.”
Okaloosa remains bolstered by its military presence, Sparks added. Transitioning service members continue to provide a steady pipeline of skilled, mission-focused talent to the private sector.
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