The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is back to posting figures on new unemployment filings following the government shutdown, and Florida is continuing its trend of solid numbers.
The DOL report for the week ending Nov. 15 shows there was a sharp decrease in the number of first-time unemployment claims in the state. That figure came in at 4,981, down from the previous week’s figure of 5,833, a decrease of 852 claims.
It’s one of the biggest drops in the last half-year, and it’s a reflection of the general trend in Florida.
The last formal new unemployment report was nearly two months ago from the DOL, for the week ending Sept. 20. There was a notable drop then, too. The figure fell by 485 from the week ending Sept. 13, to 5,590.
The first report in November is a reflection of a steeper slide in claims typically seen due to the onset of the holiday season. Retailers are ramping up hiring seasonal workers in anticipation of the huge influx of shoppers as the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approach.
The most recent drop in Florida’s initial jobless claims reflects the national trend. The unadjusted data showed there were 216,671 claims last week. That’s a 9.3% decrease from the previous week’s figure of 22,095. That’s a bigger decrease than DOL analysts had projected. Federal economists thought there would be a 5.9% decline, or a drop of 14,166.
The latest national figure was an uptick, though, from a year ago. There were 214,257 claims for the same comparable week in 2024.
Florida’s general unemployment rate has also remained fairly stable for much of this year. The most recent unemployment rate posted by FloridaCommerce was for August, which showed a 3.8% jobless rate in the Sunshine State. That was a 0.1-point uptick from the July figure. The rate otherwise held steady at 3.7% through the Summer.
There was no report for September due to the government shutdown.
