Florida weekly initial jobless claims see sharp spike for first time in August

Unemployment numbers are starting to ease up. Image via AP.

New unemployment insurance claims in Florida saw a sharp spike last week, accounting for the biggest increase this summer, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

There were 7,549 first-time jobless claims filed in the Sunshine State for the week ending Aug. 17, before seasonal adjustments. That’s an increase of 1,987 claims from the previous week’s total.

The substantial surge is the most notable jump in claims since the week ending July 13, when there was an increase of more than 1,000 initial unemployment claims. First-time unemployment claims have been on a steady decline for most of the Summer months in Florida, though last week’s report showed there was a slight increase of 12 more unemployment claims than the prior week.

Florida’s latest jump in first-time weekly jobless claims also cuts against the trend in last week’s initial unemployment filings on a national level. According to DOL, there were 191,576 first-time filings for unemployment benefits across the country for the week ending Aug. 17, before seasonal adjustments. That’s down by 9,270 from the previous week, or a 4.6% drop.

Heading into August, Florida had seen weekly first-time unemployment claims decline for seven out of eight weeks this Summer. The DOL report for the week ending Aug. 3 saw the lowest amount of weekly unemployment claims at 5,095, proving Summer was good for employment this year in the Sunshine State.

And the string of solid weekly initial unemployment claims was a welcome change from a volatile stretch earlier this year, when the figures were fluctuating from week to week with no clear trend.

The latest figures come as Florida has seen the monthly unemployment rate hold steady for 2024. The total unemployment figure for June was 3.3%. That number has been stable for three months, with only modest increases before that.

And, as Gov. Ron DeSantis has claimed credit for the unemployment figures due to his economic policies, the state’s unemployment rate has remained well below the national unemployment rate for 44 straight months.