Labor Department: Florida’s new unemployment claims increase to start May
The U.S. unemploynet ticked up a bit. Image via AP.

unemployment
While Florida's initial jobless claims went up, the national trend showed a 7.6% week-to-week drop in new filings.

New unemployment claims in Florida ticked up for the first time in nearly a month for the week ending May 3.

A new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) report showed the first increase in new unemployment claims in the state in three weeks. There were 6,227 initial unemployment claims for the week ending May 3. That was a modest increase of 385 claims from the week ending April 26, when there were 5,842 filings.

It’s the first time Florida’s weekly unemployment claims have exceeded 6,000 in about a month. Despite the latest DOL report, new unemployment claims have generally been decreasing for most of this year.

The latest Sunshine State jobless claims report goes against the trend across America. DOL figures show there were 206,937 initial unemployment benefit claims filed across the country last week. That’s down by 16,972 claims, a notable 7.6% decline.

The drop in national new unemployment claims was more substantial than DOL analysts had anticipated. Researchers projected a drop of 4,584 claims, an expected decrease of 2%.

The latest national unemployment claims report was also upbeat in the year-over-year comparison. There were 210,050 initial claims filed in the comparable week in 2024, a drop of 1.5% year-to-year.

Florida’s general unemployment rate has reflected the weekly trends. The jobless rate held steady for months at 3.4% through the end 2024. The first two months of 2025 saw the unemployment rate tick up slightly, to 3.5% then to 3.6%. But that figure remained the same in March, according to FloridaCommerce.

Florida’s unemployment rate still remains lower than the national rate, which has held steady at 4.2% in March and April. It’s the 53rd month in a row the Sunshine State has had a lower rate than the national figure.

Drew Dixon

Drew Dixon is a journalist of 40 years who has reported in print and broadcast throughout Florida, starting in Ohio in the 1980s. He is also an adjunct professor of philosophy and ethics at three colleges, Jacksonville University, University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville. You can reach him at [email protected].


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, Liam Fineout, A.G. Gancarski, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Andrew Powell, Jesse Scheckner, Janelle Taylor, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704