Florida on 6-week streak of declining first-time unemployment reports

The upbeat employment picture in Florida this Summer is continuing as the number of of new unemployment filings dropped again.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released another first-time unemployment report showing Florida had 5,968 claims during the week ending Aug. 23. That’s down by 175 from the 6,143 reported for the week ending Aug. 16.

It’s the sixth week in a row that Florida has seen a decrease in that figure.

The back half of the Summer differs from previous weeks, as new unemployment reports fluctuated up and down in Florida in June and early July.

In the most recent report, Florida fell in line with the national trend. The U.S. as a whole also saw a decrease in claims last week, with 191,289 filings. That’s a modest decrease from the week before, falling by 2,873. That amounts to a 1.5% dip.

The decrease is a positive note, as DOL analysts predicted an increase for the week ending Aug. 23. The projection called for an uptick of 1,405, which would have been a 0.7% increase from the Aug. 16 report.

The latest national figures are also a decrease in the year-over-year comparison. There were 192,741 claims for the comparable week in August 2024. That’s 1,452 more filings than this year.

Florida has remained relatively stable not only in new filings, but in the broader unemployment picture as well. The jobless rate has held steady for four straight months. The July figure was 3.7%, according to FloridaCommerce, the state’s economic development bureau.

The July rate 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.

Compared to national figures, Florida is sitting pretty and has remained below the American unemployment rate for 57 straight months. The national figure stands at 4.2%.