Florida new unemployment claims fall for fourth straight week

First-time unemployment claims fell for four straight weeks in Florida. Image via AP.

New unemployment claims in Florida dropped for the fourth straight week, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

There were 6,382 initial unemployment benefit claims in the state for the week ending July 6, before seasonal adjustments. That’s down by 519 filings from the previous week. It’s also a continuation of dropping first-time jobless claims.

That represents at least a brief change from what has been a predominantly mixed weekly unemployment claims picture for most of this year. The new unemployment claims have been going up and down for the majority of 2024 in Florida.

And for the second week in a row, Florida’s first-time unemployment claims went against the national trend that showed increasing filings, according to DOL figures. There was a nominal increase in the number of initial jobless claims for the week ending July 6, up to 241,051 filings. That’s a bump of 1,666 claims across the country, a 0.7% hike before seasonal adjustments from the week ending June 29.

Florida’s general unemployment rate has been holding steady for most of 2024 thus far. May’s monthly unemployment rate was 3.3% across the state, unchanged from April.

May’s figure was also the 43rd straight month that Florida had an unemployment figure that was lower than the national figure. The June jobless report is scheduled to be released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in about a week.