Florida workers turn to trade jobs amid rising unemployment and AI uncertainties

More Floridians are learning a trade, like carpentry or construction. Labor market experts say the shift could mean workers are seeking job security, amid rising unemployment and uncertainty over artificial intelligence in the state. That's because trades usually have a low cost of entry and are in high demand. [Source: WLRN]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Key ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal from the City of Marathon in a land use case with implications for the future of development rights in the Florida Keys. The case was the subject of an article in the March 2026 issue of Florida Trend. The court declined to hear Marathon’s appeal in its decades-long fight with the Shands family over Shands Key, a 7.9-acre island just north of the city. The family, which has owned the island since 1956, wanted to build a family compound on the island but local government, after they bought it, designated it as “conservation offshore land” which eliminated their ability to build. [Source: Florida Trend]

Column: Florida has proved childhood poverty can be reduced. The work is not finished.

Despite being one of the world’s top economies, Florida still has 1 in 5 kids living in poverty. Florida’s future competitiveness depends on more than economic growth alone. It depends on whether every child has the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their ZIP code. Over the last several years, Florida has demonstrated that meaningful progress is possible when business leaders, educators, nonprofits, healthcare providers, and community organizations align around data-driven solutions. [Source: Florida Politics]

America's secret baseball city is hiding on Florida's Gulf Coast

St. Petersburg, Florida, hardly ever comes up in conversations about America’s great baseball cities, but it probably should. Long before it became a Gulf Coast destination known as the “Sunshine City,” it quietly helped invent one of the sport’s defining traditions: spring training as we know it today. For more than a century, professional baseball teams have come to St. Pete to escape northern winters and warm up for the regular season. In the process, the city became a kind of winter getaway for the sport itself—hosting star players, shaping fan culture, and building its own legends. [Source: Forbes]

Social Security trust fund depletion and what Floridians could lose

Social Security beneficiaries in Florida may lose about $500 per month in benefits if the program's trust fund is depleted in less than seven years, as predicted, according to a new analysis. If this happens, Florida would be one of the hardest hit states. Nearly 20% of the state's population, or 4,627,797 people, would be affected. [Source: Florida Today]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› USAA joins Florida rate relief wave with nearly $1 billion return [Insurance Business Magazine]
Florida’s sweeping civil litigation reforms are beginning to show up in policyholders’ bank accounts. USAA will deliver nearly $1 billion in combined savings and returns to eligible Florida members between December 2025 and July 2026, the San Antonio-based insurer announced Monday.

› First Coast employers gear up for summer hiring surge [Jacksonville Business Journal]
Coinciding with typical graduation ceremonies, the U.S. labor market closed its third month of nonfarm payroll employment gains in a row. Nationally, gains were led by a trio of sectors: leisure and hospitality (+70,000), local government (+44,000, excluding education) and healthcare (+35,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

› ‘It’s overwhelming’: Rising food insecurity strains South Florida food banks [Miami Herald]
The lines outside Curley’s House Hope Relief Food Bank in Allapattah have never been longer. After 30 years of feeding Miami residents in need, Lavern Spicer, founder and executive director for Curley’s House, says demand for food assistance has surged as rising costs leave more residents struggling to make ends meet, putting unprecedented pressure on the pantry’s resources.

› Girls Night Out turns downtown Ocala into a celebration of female entrepreneurship [WUFT]
Pink‑and‑citrus decorations draped across the Ocala Downtown Market pavilion as pop music floated above rows of handmade jewelry, candles and freshly poured lemonade. Shoppers in sundresses and sneakers moved from booth to booth with drinks and shopping bags in hand, pausing for photos at a neon sign or queuing for a “dirty soda.” The vibe was somewhere between a bustling market and a block party, which is exactly what Girls Night Out, a monthly pop‑up that marries commerce and celebration, strives to be.

More stories ...

› Orange County revives TDT task force as tourism tax revenues reach record levels [Orlando Business Journal]
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is launching a new Tourist Development Tax Task Force this summer that could shape how hundreds of millions of tourism dollars are invested across the region for years to come. Demings announced June 5 during his final State of the County address that he will convene a volunteer task force of county residents. Orange County saw record annual revenues of $384 million in Fiscal Year 2025 from the 6% tax on hotel stays and other short-term rentals.

› How an MDC student turned a personal wellness journey into an AI-powered app for everyday peace [Refresh Miami]
When Farah Cadet first enrolled in coding classes, she wasn’t planning to launch a startup. The Miami-based consultant had already pursued several careers, starting in healthcare, switching over to interior design, and building a career working on large-scale hospitality projects like hotels and cruise ships. But during the pandemic, when the hospitality industry slowed and her role with Virgin Voyages came to an end, Cadet found herself searching for something new.

› St. Johns contractor builds luxury empire [Jacksonville Business Journal]
After years of working all over the state, Winston Radford can now see a lot of his clientele by looking up and down the street when he goes to his mailbox. Radford is the owner of Radcraft Construction, which has become a prime option for luxury homebuilding in southern St. Johns County. Growing up in the building industry, Radford has operated his own framing company, built restaurants and done commercial and residential projects throughout the state.

› Popular Florida paper company expanding to Tampa closes warehouse. 74 jobs lost [Tampa Bay Times]
Rifle Paper Co., a popular stationery and lifestyle brand started in Winter Park by a husband-and wife-team, is closing its longtime warehouse and fulfillment center in Fern Park and laying off 74 employees. Employees will be let go in phases, the company said, starting with 58 on July 31, 14 on Aug. 28, when the building is set to close, and the last two on Sept. 30. It’s unclear if the company is moving any of the work done in the warehouse for about 10 years to a facility elsewhere.

Lower Rents in Tampa Bay