Drew Dixon
Following a relatively stable Summer of usually decreasing new jobless claims in Florida, the first week of October was rocked with a huge spike in first-time unemployment filings.
There were 9,377 initial unemployment benefits claims filed in Florida for the week ending Oct. 5 before seasonal adjustments, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). That’s an increase of 3,842 claims over the final full week of September, for the week ending Sept. 28.
The last week of September saw a notable drop in first-time unemployment claims, when there were more than 1,000 fewer filings. That week also dropped the total figure of new unemployment claims below 6,000 for one of the rare times in the past six months.
The week ending Oct. 5 marks the first time there were more than 9,000 filings in a single week so far this year for Florida.
While the DOL offered no explanations as to why Florida had such a big jump in new jobless claims, the spike in unemployment corresponds to the week after Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend area of the state while pummeling several counties along the Gulf Coast.
The DOL numbers show there were 234,780 new weekly unemployment claims across the country for the week ending Oct. 5. That’s up by 53,570 from the last week in September. That’s a whopping 29.6% jump in jobless filings for one week.
Florida had enjoyed a relatively upbeat employment picture for most of this year as general jobless reports issued each month indicated a stable situation.
The August general unemployment figure for Florida came in at 3.3%, a figure that hasn’t budged since early Spring. State officials are pinning the upbeat unemployment picture in Florida on job development programs.
“Private sector job growth continues to surpass the national average, with a growth rate of 2.1% over the year since August 2023, compared to the national rate of 1.4% over the same time period. This success is attributed to Florida’s strategic investments in workforce education and development, driving high-demand, high-wage jobs that benefit both job seekers and employers,” a FloridaCommerce news release said.
The job growth isn’t just a recent development, either. State officials say there has been positive job growth in Florida in 50 of the last 52 months.
The Florida general monthly unemployment figure has remained below the national unemployment rate — now at around 4.1% — for 46 straight months.
