Drew Dixon
The final full week of June brought an uptick in new unemployment claims in Florida.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) report shows there were 6,892 initial jobless filings for the week ending June 28 in the Sunshine State. That is 376 more filings than the week ending June 21, when there were 6,516 new claims.
The latest data ends two weeks of decreases in initial unemployment claims for Florida. But the total number of new claims still sits below the 8,000 seen in the beginning of June, when there was an unusual spike in filings. The week ending June 7 saw the highest level of initial claims for the year thus far.
The latest increase in Florida falls in line with the national trend, which showed a modest increase. DOL data shows there were 231,548 initial claims across America for the week ending June 28. That’s an increase of 4,032 claims, or a 1.8% uptick, from the week ending June 21.
DOL analysts had projected a rise in new claims, but the final result was below what had been predicted. DOL economists expected a jump of 7,805 claims, which would have been a 3.4% increase.
That also represented a year-over-year increase in national claims. There were 239,379 initial claims filed across the country for the same comparable week in 2024. That’s a drop of 7,831 compared to last year.
FloridaCommerce data showed the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.7% in April and May. That figure is lower than the national rate of 4.2%, which also remained unchanged in May.
Florida has had a lower monthly unemployment rate than the nation for 55 straight months. While the unemployment rate has remained flat for two months, it has been steadily increasing from figures a year ago.
