Department of Labor: Unemployment filings in Florida tumble for week ending Feb. 15

Everyone’s hiring. Image via AP.

After a small increase earlier this month, Florida saw a notable drop in new unemployment claims for the week ending Feb. 15.

There were 5,615 first-time jobless filings in Florida last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). That’s a 17.4% drop in unemployment claims from the week ending Feb. 8, when there were 6,778 filings, before seasonal adjustments.

The Feb. 8 report saw the first increase in weeks, but was only an uptick of about 500 claims. Generally, 2025 has started off on a positive note regarding the employment picture in Florida.

The latest unemployment claims report for the state was in line with the national trend. There were 222,627 new jobless filings across the country last week. That’s a 4.3% drop, or a decrease of 10,118 first-time jobless filings, compared to the week ending Feb. 8.

DOL analysts projected that there would be a larger decrease in new unemployment filings nationally. The analysts expected a drop of 15,416 claims across America for the week ending Feb. 15, or a 6.6% decline.

The latest national first-time unemployment claims figure does represent a substantial increase, though, in the year-over-year comparison. In the same time frame for February 2024, there were 199,337 initial job claims in 2024, with this year seeing a 10.4% jump.

Florida’s unemployment picture remains relatively solid. The latest general unemployment rate is 3.4%, just a small uptick from the 3.3% rate seen in Florida through the Spring and Summer months, according to FloridaCommerce.

Florida’s general unemployment rate has remained under the national jobless figure for 50 straight months. As of January, the national jobless rate was 4%.

January’s unemployment figure is expected to be released within days by FloridaCommerce.

Florida, meanwhile, continues to add jobs to the workforce, according to FloridaCommerce. December saw 17,900 private-sector jobs added compared to November. The number of private-sector jobs compared to a year ago has increased by 122,800. That increase outpaced the national private-sector job growth rate of 1.3% in the same time span.