Jobless Claims Dip in State, Jump Nationally
Florida’s jobless claims fell 1.7% to 5,624 last week, while U.S. filings surged 11% to 263,000, which was the highest weekly total since 2021.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida had a slight dip in first-time unemployment claims last week, while applications nationally leaped to the highest total in nearly four years.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,624 initial jobless claims were filed in Florida during the Labor Day-shortened week that ended Sept. 6. That was down from 5,721 claims during the week that ended Aug. 30. The state has averaged 5,916 claims over the past four weeks. The last time the state had a four-week run with claims averaging under 6,000 was in March.
Meanwhile, an estimated 263,000 claims were filed last week nationally, up from 236,000 during the week that ended Aug. 30. That was the highest total for a week since Oct. 23, 2021, when 268,000 claims were filed.
The national numbers are seasonally adjusted, while the state numbers are not adjusted. Florida had a 3.7% unemployment rate in July, and the state will release an August rate on Sept. 19. The national unemployment rate in August was 4.3%.
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