Drew Dixon
Florida is continuing a strong Summer stretch in employment according to the latest report on new unemployment claims.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) data shows there were 5,941 new jobless filings in Florida for the week ending Aug. 16. That’s a decrease of some 507 claims from the previous week, when there were 6,448 claims.
That marks the fifth straight week the Sunshine State has witnessed a decline in new unemployment claims. That trend is also a dramatic change from recent months in Florida, which has seen wild fluctuations up and down from late Spring into the early Summer.
The latest decrease in Florida claims is reflective of the national data. There were 194,920 first-time jobless claims submitted across America last week, according to DOL figures. That’s down by 4,470, a drop of 2.2%.
But that’s not as substantial as DOL economists had projected. Analysts predicted there would be a decrease of 13,875 new claims, a 7% decline.
Claims nationwide also dropped year over year. DOL data shows there were 192,463 first-time jobless filings for the comparable week in 2024.
The latest weekly Florida report and steady initial unemployment claims come after the latest general unemployment rate indicates a steady trend that dates back to April. FloridaCommerce recently reported that the July unemployment rate was 3.7%, a number it’s been sitting at for four straight months.
The July figure accounts for about 417,000 Floridians who are out of a job. That’s out of an entire estimated workforce in the state of about 11.19 million people. July also saw an expansion of nonagricultural jobs by about 7,300 workers when compared to June.
Florida’s job growth has increased in 50 of the last 52 months. The 3.7% July unemployment rate is lower than the national figure of 4.2%. The state has had a lower figure than the U.S. as a whole for 57 straight months.
