With fewer layoffs, Florida unemployment claims dropped last week
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The number of Floridians filing new jobless claims dropped last week by more than 17,500 from the previous week, according to figures released Thursday.
There were 73,955 new claims for unemployment benefits filed last week in Florida, a drop from the previous week’s 91,462 claims.
The report from the U.S. Department of Labor noted that last week there were fewer layoffs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, retail, and service industries than the previous week.
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Nationally, the number of applications for unemployment benefits dropped by almost a quarter million to 1.2 million new claims.
Since the pandemic started in March, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has confirmed 3.2 million jobless claims and paid out $12.8 billion in benefits.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.