Drew Dixon
Initial unemployment claims showed a notable decrease for the week ending April 19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
First-time jobless claims fell below 6,000 for the first time in more than a month. There were 5,892 new unemployment claims last week. That’s down by 939 filings for the week ending April 12, when there were 6,831 claims.
The latest unemployment claims report continues the general trend for the year thus far. Few weeks in 2025 have seen upticks in claims, and when they have gone up, increases have been relatively modest for the most part.
The most recent fall in initial unemployment claims for Florida was in line with the national trend. There were 209,782 new unemployment claims last week, a decrease of 11,214, or a 5.1% decline.
That figure fell short of what researchers were hoping for, as they anticipated a more substantial drop. DOL had projected a 7.6% decline in the weekly unemployment claims, or a reduction of 16,850.
In the year-over-year comparison, the latest report seems a bit less rosy. National first-time claims are higher than the same comparable week a year ago. In 2024, there were 202,619 initial claims.
Florida’s general unemployment picture has stabilized, though, since the first two months of 2025 that saw the unemployment rate increase. January’s jobless rate increased to 3.5% and February saw yet another uptick to 3.6%. That figure remained the same in March.
The state’s unemployment rate had held steady at 3.4% for most of the back half of 2024. The Florida rate was as low as 3.2% last year, with that mark last seen in March 2024.
Florida’s unemployment rate still remains lower than the national rate, which ticked up to 4.2% in March. It’s the 53rd month in a row the Sunshine State has had a lower rate than the national figure
FloridaCommerce reported there were 403,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11.198 million in March.
