First-time unemployment claims in Florida saw a slight increase last week. The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 6,023 unemployment applications were filed last week, up from a revised count of 5,887 during the week that ended Jan. 27.
Florida has averaged 6,179 claims a week since the start of the year, after averaging 5,774 in 2023. Nationally, the Department of Labor estimated 218,000 claims were filed last week, a decrease of 9,000 claims from the previous week.
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The nation has averaged 212,250 claims a week over the past four weeks.
The national unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent in January. Florida had a 3 percent unemployment rate in December, with an estimated 334,000 Floridians out of work from a labor force of 11.194 million.
The Florida Department of Commerce will release a January unemployment rate on March 11.
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