jobs

Some businesses are struggling to find workers even as millions are unemployed, as the pandemic has made this a recession like no other.

TALLAHASSEE --- Florida has posted its lowest weekly total of first-time unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite mounting issues confronting the travel industry. The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 17,621 first-time jobless claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Feb. 6, down from 69,140 the prior week.

Florida’s jobless rate dipped 0.2 percentage points in December amid what state officials said is growing economic confidence as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

A top Florida economist told lawmakers Thursday that financial problems could linger for a couple of years because of the resurging coronavirus pandemic, as first-time unemployment claims tripled in the first full week of 2021.

Extended unemployment benefits included in the latest federal stimulus package are starting to become available for Floridians out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic, the state Department of Economic Opportunity said Monday.

Congress passed the long-sought $900 billion COVID-19 relief package this week, teeing it up for action by Trump. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday estimated that another 24,000 first-time jobless claims were filed in Florida last week, close to the state average for more than a month.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity on Friday posted a 6.4 percent jobless rate for November, equal to a revised jobless mark for October. The rate indicates 651,000 Floridians qualified as unemployed in mid-November, just 7,000 fewer than a month earlier.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 21,780 new unemployment applications were filed in Florida during the week that ended Dec. 12, down 25 percent from a revised projection for the previous week.

The Labor Department is expected to report Friday a sharp slowdown in job growth in November as a surge in coronavirus cases weighs on many businesses.

If Congress doesn't compromise and pass another relief bill, a new study finds a staggering number of Americans will lose a critical financial lifeline as the pandemic worsens.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimated Thursday that 28,128 new claims came in last week to Florida, part of 709,000 first-time claims nationally during the week that ended Nov. 7.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimated Thursday that 35,960 initial unemployment claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Oct. 17, down from 47,904 the prior week and 42,306 during the week that ended Oct. 3.