Only Maine is in a weaker position to produce tradespeople, the report finds.
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No state is under more pressure to find skilled trades workers than Florida, and only one is in a weaker position to produce them, according to a new national report backed by some of the country’s largest companies.
Florida posted a demand-pressure score of 95 out of 100 in the State of America’s Skilled Trades report, the highest mark among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Arizona was a close second at 93, and Georgia was third at 80. The index weighs projected and recent employment growth, each state’s mix of trade occupations, and wage trends.
Florida’s supply-position score was 26, which ranks 50th of 51. Only Maine scored lower. That index tracks how many new workers a state’s counted training routes produce, how well those programs move people through, the age of the existing workforce, and whether tradespeople are moving in or out.
The report was released Sept. 30 by the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades, a coalition founded in July by BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford Motor Co., and Google. The research was led by the Burning Glass Institute and Jobs for the Future and covers 124 skilled trades occupations in all 50 states. Nationally, the report estimates employers will need to fill about 1.7 million skilled trades openings a year through 2035, while training programs are producing 55 workers for every 100 needed.
Florida is one of nine states the report flags for pairing high demand with low supply, alongside Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
More than 1 million Floridians work in the trades the report covers. That workforce grew by about 104,000 between 2019 and 2025, an 11% increase that ranked seventh nationally.
The state has 32 registered apprentices for every 1,000 skilled trades workers. Among apprentices who exited programs in fiscal years 2021 through 2024, 38% completed. The state’s college trade programs reported a 53% completion rate.
About half of the people who enroll in skilled trades training nationwide finish, according to the report, though some apprenticeship programs post completion rates above 90%. The report identifies transportation, childcare, and the need to earn a paycheck while training as the barriers that most often keep people from finishing.
An average of 25,555 skilled trades workers moved to Florida from other states each year between 2020 and 2024, while 21,580 left, a net gain of 3,975 a year. Only North Carolina and Texas netted more. Roughly 8,000 more arrived annually from outside the United States.
The report’s Labor Shortage Index puts industrial and refractory machinery mechanics and tool and die makers at the top of Florida’s list, followed by underground mining machine operators, elevator and escalator installers and repairers, and precision instrument and equipment repairers. Electricians also rank among the state’s highest-pressure occupations. The index does not count vacancies. It measures how hard an occupation is to fill based on workforce age, new entrants, licensing, projected growth, and other structural factors.
Median pay for Florida’s skilled trades workers was $54,700 as of May 2025, which ranks 42nd of 51. Pay ranged from about $38,000 at the 10th percentile to $79,000 at the 90th. Median pay is up 30.5% since 2019, before accounting for inflation.
The same day it released the report, the Alliance added 14 members: AT&T, Barton Malow, Blackstone, Cintas Corp., DeWalt, Dycom, The Hershey Co., ManpowerGroup, Meta, Microsoft, Milwaukee Tool, Nvidia, Verizon, and Waymo.
“No single company can close the skilled trades gap alone. Training just 55 workers for every 100 needed puts economic growth at risk and leaves people without a clear path to a good career,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said. “These careers deserve respect. Employers, educators and policymakers must work together to help people get the training, support and jobs they need to succeed.”
The Alliance also launched America’s Skilled Trades Dashboard, a searchable tool with more than 5,000 state- and trade-level profiles. Florida’s long-term projections in that data call for skilled trades employment to grow another 12.3% from 2024 to 2034, the fourth-fastest pace in the country.
— Ed. note: This story was drafted with assistance from AI. Editorial judgment, sourcing, and final review were performed by Peter Schorsch and the Florida Politics editorial team.
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