Drew Dixon
Florida’s first-time unemployment claims fell for the second week in a row.
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) data shows there were 6,332 new filings in the Sunshine State for the week ending June 21. That’s a decrease of 1,280 claims from the week ending June 14, when there were 7,612 filings.
Claims had spiked above 8,000 at the beginning of the month. That was the first time new jobless claims had exceeded that level this year.
But Florida’s filings have generally remained below 7,000 for most of this year, often dipping below 6,000. Initial unemployment claims have dipped more often than increased in 2025 thus far.
The latest Florida first-time jobless filings also aligned with the national picture. DOL statistics show there were a total 227,080 initial claims last week. That’s a decrease of 9,438, or a 4% drop, which is greater than the decline the DOL analysts had expected. Those economists projected that there would be a fall of 246 claims across the country for the week.
The latest number of national claims exceeded the number of filings in the year-over-year comparison, but not by much. There were 225,100 first-time jobless filings for the same comparable week in June 2024.
The newest report comes as FloridaCommerce recently reported that Florida’s general unemployment rate is holding steady. Officials with the jobs and business development bureau for the state said the jobless figure came in at 3.7% for May.
That rate was unchanged from April. But jobless rates have increased throughout the year.
In the year-over-year comparison, the latest unemployment rate for the Sunshine State is up a notable 0.4 percentage points from May 2024’s figure of 3.3%.
Florida’s jobless figure is still lower than the national rate. The U.S. Department of Labor reports the unemployment rate across the country was 4.2% in May, unchanged from April. It’s the 55th straight month that Florida has had a lower rate than the nation.
