New unemployment claims jump back up in Florida following holiday hiring spree

First-time unemployment claims dropped for the week ending June 22.

The number of Florida’s new unemployment claims increased to start off 2025, but the surge was expected.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) officials recorded 4,812 initial jobless filings for the week ending Jan. 4, up by 1,342 claims from the previous week.

The most recent figure is higher than the 3,475 claims recorded by U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) officials in the week prior, due primarily to the holidays that caused retailers and businesses to hire more workers for increased shopping.

There were few weeks in 2024 that saw new claims fall under 5,000. And there were no weeks with fewer than 4,000 claims in 2024 until the holiday period, when the increase in hiring was in full gear.

The most recent report on Florida unemployment claims falls in line with the national trend, which also saw a bump in new unemployment claims in the wake of the holidays. There were 304,741 new claims across the country for the week ending Jan. 4, an increase of 21,253 filings, or a 7.5% jump.

Even with weekly fluctuations in 2024, the general monthly unemployment rate in Florida was fairly stable for most of last year, holding at 3.3% from April through October. FloridaCommerce officials reported November’s unemployment mark increased slightly to 3.4%, the first increase in eight months.

Florida’s unemployment rate has remained lower than the national figure for 49 straight months. The national jobless rate now stands at 4.2%.