Drew Dixon
The upbeat Summer for weekly initial unemployment claim reporting continues, with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) showing another decrease in first-time jobless filings in Florida.
There were 5,095 people who filed for initial unemployment benefits in the Sunshine State for the week ending Aug. 3 before seasonal adjustments. That’s down by 377 from the previous week.
The latest drop means that seven out of the last eight weeks have seen first-time jobless claims decrease in Florida. The most recent report also is the lowest number of weekly initial jobless claims in Florida this year.
While Florida’s weekly unemployment claims have often bucked the national trend — as numbers nationwide rose in recent weeks — this week’s national numbers are in line with the Sunshine State.
Across the country, there were 203,054 first-time unemployment claims for the week ending Aug. 3. That’s down by 13,589 claims from the week ending July 27, or a 6.3% decline. Last week’s report showed a slightly larger national decline of 9.7%.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims figures reflect a generally positive employment run in Florida for Summer thus far. The current trend is more stable than what was seen in Florida earlier this year, when weekly unemployment figures were much more volatile. But since June, first-time jobless claims have been generally heading in a downward trajectory.
Those weekly reports also reflect a fairly stable general unemployment picture in Florida for most of this year.
There were modest upticks in the broader, monthly unemployment rates for the early months of 2024. Then in April, the monthly general unemployment rate settled at 3.3% and has held steady at that figure through June. The latest monthly unemployment rate, covering July numbers, is scheduled to be released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Aug. 16.
Florida’s general unemployment rate has remained lower than the national unemployment rate for 44 straight months.
