www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-21 09:01:00
Florida’s unemployment rate rose by 0.1% to 3.7% in April, still below the national average of 4.2%. The state’s labor force participation rate fell to 58%, down from 59.9% in October 2019. Florida’s nonfarm employment grew by 21,300 jobs in April, with education and health services adding 48,200 jobs, the largest sector increase. Job gains were seen across all major industries, with the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area leading growth. However, several southwest Florida areas, including Naples-Marco Island and St. Petersburg-Clearwater-Largo, experienced job losses. Monroe County had the lowest unemployment at 2.4%.
(The Center Square) – According to state and federal data, Florida’s unemployment rate inched up by 0.1% in April to 3.7%, still lower than the national average of 4.2%.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor force participation rate was at 58%, down from a 10-year high in October 2019 when it was at 59.9%.
The seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate is defined as the percentage of those either working or seeking work.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment was slightly more than 10 million in April, an increase of 21,300 jobs compared to March. For the year to date, the state has added 144,100 jobs, an increase of 1.5%.
All 10 major industries had job growth in April, with the education and health services sector growing the most, adding 48,200 jobs for a gain of 3.2%.
The trade, transportation and utilities sector added 26,200 jobs for a gain of 1.3%, while government added 18,400 jobs (1.6% gain). The other services sector grew by 12,600 jobs or 3.3% while construction added 12,400 jobs for a 1.9% gain.
Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.4%. Miami-Dade County was 2.7% and Wakulla County 3%.
The highest local unemployment in April was found in Sumter County at 6.3%. Taylor County was 6.1% and Citrus County and Hamilton County each 5.2%.
According to the data, 22 of the state’s 25 metropolitan areas gained jobs so far in the year to date.
The biggest gainer was the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area, which added 28,300 jobs for a gain of 1.9%.
The Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall metro area added 20,900 jobs for a 1.6% gain, while Tampa added 14,500 jobs for an increase of 1.4%. The Miami area has the lowest unemployment rate among the state’s metro areas at 2.7%.
Across Tampa Bay in Pinellas County, the news was grimmer, as the St. Petersburg-Clearwater-Largo area lost 3,000 jobs or a decline of 0.6%.
The next two metro areas that lost jobs were located in southwest Florida. The Naples-Marco Island metro area lost 2,600 jobs with a decline of 1.4% and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area lost 200 jobs, a 0.1% downgrade.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article provides a straightforward presentation of economic data related to Florida’s unemployment rate and job growth across various sectors and counties. It focuses on reporting statistics from official sources without using loaded language or editorializing the information. The tone remains factual and neutral throughout, simply outlining the job gains and losses without attributing causes to particular political policies or advocating for a specific ideological viewpoint. This approach demonstrates an adherence to neutral, factual reporting rather than presenting or endorsing an ideological stance.
SUMMARY: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which managed $136 million in federal grants for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) to upgrade emergency alert systems in underserved areas, is shutting down on September 30 after losing congressional funding. This threatens dozens of projects aimed at improving public media stations’ ability to deliver crucial alerts during disasters, especially in rural areas with poor cell service. Stations like KSUT and KVPR have halted upgrades due to suspended funds and halted FEMA spending. FEMA has recently opened limited NGWS grants directly to states but hasn’t clarified distribution of existing funds, leaving emergency alert resilience at risk amid growing climate hazards.
www.youtube.com – Tampa Bay 28 – 2025-08-25 14:45:01
SUMMARY: Travis Kurtz, a Seminole man and property manager, survived a lightning strike outside Rizzo’s pizzeria during a typical rainy day. The lightning hit unexpectedly, leaving him convulsing and in severe pain with a heart rate of 1,265 beats per minute. Pizza shop owner Mark Rizzo quickly responded, calling 911 and helping Kurtz, who spent several days hospitalized. Though Kurtz faces memory loss and motor skill challenges, he is grateful to be alive, supported by his girlfriend and community. A fundraiser and GoFundMe have been organized to assist with his recovery, urging Floridians to avoid going out in the rain during storms.
Florida man survives lightning strike outside Seminole pizza shop; credits stranger and girlfriend for saving his life. Now, he’s sharing his story — and warning others.
floridaphoenix.com – Ariana Figueroa, William J. Ford – 2025-08-25 10:29:00
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested at an ICE office in Baltimore on August 25, 2025, amid protests and a prayer vigil supporting him. Wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March, where he suffered abuse, Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges. The Trump administration seeks to deport him to Uganda unless he pleads guilty, offering Costa Rica refugee status as an alternative. His lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition to block removal. Advocates and politicians condemn the administration’s coercive tactics and wrongful deportation, highlighting ongoing legal battles and calls for justice and due process.
by Ariana Figueroa and William J. Ford, Florida Phoenix August 25, 2025
BALTIMORE — Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore early Monday for a prayer vigil for the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration aims to re-deport to Uganda unless he pleads guilty to Justice Department charges.
As Abrego Garcia arrived for his Monday ICE check-in at the office, he was arrested and detained, one of his immigration lawyers, Simon Y. Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the crowd.
The crowd shouted “Shame!”
Sandoval-Moshenberg added that the ICE officials at the time would not answer questions about where Abrego Garcia would be detained.
“The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said outside the office.
Television cameras and photographers follow Kilmar Abrego Garcia as his family, friends and other supporters walk him up the steps to the George H. Fallon Federal Building, where the ICE detention facility is located in Baltimore, on Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to States Newsroom that “ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation.”
DHS said that ICE has placed Abrego Garcia in removal proceedings to Uganda, which has agreed to accept deportees from the United States.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys quickly filed a habeas corpus petition suit in a Maryland district court, where Judge Paula Xinis, who also ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garica after his wrongful deportation, has barred immigration officials from removing Abrego Garcia from the United States until 4 p.m. Eastern Wednesday. A habeas corpus petition allows immigrants to challenge their detention.
In a Monday afternoon emergency hearing with Xinis, the attorneys for Abrego Garcia, including Sandoval-Moshenberg, said he was being held in Virginia.
Sandoval-Moshenberg asked Xinis if she could order that Abrego Garcia not be moved from Virginia because he was concerned that Abrego Garcia could be moved. Xinis agreed, saying the order would give Abrego Garcia access to his legal counsel in his criminal case and habeas one.
Sandoval-Moshenberg said Abrego Garcia would accept refugee status that has been offered by Costa Rica’s government, but would not plead guilty to the charges.
‘I am free and have been reunited with my family’
As Abrego Garcia walked into his ICE check-in with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, he was greeted by cheers from hundreds of protesters.
In Spanish, Abrego Garcia thanked those who attended.
“I always want you to remember that today, I can say with pride, that I am free and have been reunited with my family,” he said.
Immigrant rights activists from the advocacy group CASA shielded the family and the attorneys as they entered the field office.
Protesters hold up a sign of support for Kilmar Abrego Garcia outside the ICE office in Baltimore where he was arrested on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
Over the weekend, attorneys for Abrego Garcia’s criminal case in Nashville said in court filings that the Trump administration is trying to force the Maryland man to plead guilty to human smuggling charges by promising to remove him to Costa Rica if he does so, and threatening to deport him to Uganda if he refuses.
Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty and was released Friday to await trial in January on charges he took part in a long-running conspiracy to smuggle immigrants without legal status across the United States.
His attorneys received a letter from ICE that informed them of his pending deportation to Uganda and instructed him to report to the ICE facility in Baltimore for a check-in.
Sandoval-Moshenberg said that Monday’s check-in with ICE was supposed to be an interview but “clearly that was false.”
Sandoval-Moshenberg said the new lawsuit was filed early Monday in the District Court for the District of Maryland challenging Abrego Garcia’s potential removal to the East African country, or any third country, while his immigration case is pending.
“The fact that they’re holding Costa Rica as a carrot and using Uganda as a stick to try to coerce him to plead guilty to a crime is such clear evidence that they’re weaponizing the immigration system in a matter that is completely unconstitutional,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.
Trump mass deportations in spotlight
The Supreme Court in April ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, his home country. An immigration judge had granted him removal protections in 2019 because it was likely he would face violence if returned.
The case has put the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation tactics in the national spotlight as well as the White House’s clash with the judicial branch as the president aims to carry out his plans of mass deportation.
On Friday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys moved to dismiss the case against him because of the coordination from Homeland Security and the Justice Department to force a guilty plea from him.
“There can be only one interpretation of these events,” the lawyers wrote. “The (Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security) and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego (Garcia) to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat.”
Another judge in Maryland had earlier ruled that ICE must give Abrego Garcia 72 hours of notice before removing him to a third country.
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia while he was detained there, criticized the move by the Trump administration to re-deport him to Uganda.
“The federal courts and public outcry forced the Administration to bring Ábrego García back to Maryland, but Trump’s cronies continue to lie about the facts in his case and they are engaged in a malicious abuse of power as they threaten to deport him to Uganda – to block his chance to defend himself against the new charges they brought,” he said in a Sunday statement. “As I told Kilmar and his wife Jennifer, we will stay in this fight for justice and due process because if his rights are denied, the rights of everyone else are put at risk.”
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., speaks during a rally on Aug. 25, 2025, in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is standing behind Ivey outside of the George H. Fallon Federal Building, where the ICE detention facility is located in Baltimore (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents the district where Abrego Garcia’s family lives, attended Monday’s rally. He slammed the Trump administration for moving to again deport Abrego Garcia.
“This started with a mistake,” he said. “They knew it was illegal. Instead of acknowledging it and bringing him back, they said, ‘We can’t bring him back.’ They lied.”
The Trump administration repeatedly stated in court that because Abrego Garica was in El Salvador, he was no longer in U.S. custody and could not be brought back despite court orders.
Wrongly deported in March
Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported in March and returned to the U.S. in June to face the charges filed by the Justice Department in May.
Because of his 2019 deportation protections, the Trump administration either had to challenge the withholding of removal or deport Abrego Garcia to a third country that would accept him.
His attorneys in the Tennessee case attached the agreement with the government of Costa Rica to accept Abrego Garcia’s removal in Saturday court filings.
“The Government of Costa Rica intends to provide refugee status or residency to Mr. Abrego Garcia upon his transfer to Costa Rica,” according to the agreement. “The Government of Costa Rica assures the Government of the United States of America that, consistent with that lawful immigration status and Costa Rican law, it does not intend to detain Mr. Abrego Garcia upon his arrival in Costa Rica.”
In that filing, the Trump administration late Thursday agreed to remove Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica if he remained in custody until Monday, pleaded guilty to the DOJ charges and served the sentence imposed.
Selah Torralba, an advocacy manager for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said at Monday’s rally outside the ICE facility that she pushed for Abrego Garcia’s release while he was detained in Tennessee.
“After spending close to three months brutalized in a place that he should never have been sent to begin with, and another three months imprisoned in a state that is not his own, Kilmar was joyfully reunited with his family and children this weekend,” she said. “But it is impossible to celebrate that joy without acknowledging the cruel reality that our communities have known for far too long.”
Last updated 2:39 p.m., Aug. 25, 2025
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning
This content presents a narrative critical of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and deportation policies, highlighting perceived injustices and abuses in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The focus on the harm caused by federal immigration authorities, the inclusion of statements from immigrant rights advocates and Democratic politicians, and the framing of government actions as punitive and coercive align with a left-leaning viewpoint that emphasizes immigrant protections and government accountability. The article frames the administration’s actions in a negative light, suggesting systemic issues and weaponization of immigration law, which reflects concerns commonly voiced by progressive and left-leaning perspectives.
