July starts with sharp drop in new unemployment claims in Florida
The number of first-time unemployment claims in Florida dropped. Image via AP.

unemployment
The Sunshine State bucked the national trend, which saw a 4.3% hike in first-time jobless filings.

July started on an upbeat note for the Florida unemployment picture.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) data shows there was a significant 14.5% drop in new unemployment filings for the week ending July 5 in the Sunshine state. In total, there were 6,035 initial jobless claims for that week. That’s down by 1,025 from the week ending June 28, when there were 7,060 claims.

Reports on new unemployment claims have been erratic in the past month. June started out with a dramatic spike in new filings, which soared past 8,000 for the only time this year. Then those figures steadily dropped for a few weeks before a nearly 6% uptick in the final week of June.

Florida’s latest report showing a significant decrease in claims cuts against the national trend, which saw an increase in new filings.

DOL officials say there were 240,802 filings across America to start July. That’s a 4.3% increase over the week ending June 28, a jump of 10,004.

Economists with the DOL had expected a bigger surge. They had projected a 6.4% hike, or an increase of 14,845 claims.

Claims nationwide were down compared to the same period a year ago. There were 242,191 new unemployment claims to start July 2024. The latest figures show a modest drop of 1,389 filings from a year ago. It’s the second week in a row that national claims fell compared to 2024.

The state’s general unemployment rate has remained steady for the past couple of months, with April and May holding at 3.7%, according to FloridaCommerce, the state’s employment and business development bureau.

Florida has had a lower unemployment rate than the national figure for 55 straight months. The June national jobless figure stands at 4.1%, according to the DOL. FloridaCommerce is expected to release the June figure for the state in the next few weeks.

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Your email address will not be published.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