March 28, 2024

Friday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 6/18/2021

Florida sees uptick in jobless claims

Florida saw a slight uptick in new unemployment claims last week, yet the numbers continued to be among the lowest since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 8,889 initial jobless claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended June 12, up from a revised count of 6,552 during the week that ended June 5. The department had initially estimated 5,800 claims were filed during the week that ended June 5. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Business BeatBusiness Beat - Week of June 18th

Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.

Homebuyers’ search for low taxes fuels Florida in-migration

With home costs rising across the country, one-in-five prospective homebuyers cite low taxes as a primary reason for leaving one state and moving into another. And Florida, with no income tax and the nation’s seventh-lowest overall tax rate, benefits through “in migration” – for every seven people who moved into Florida between 2013-20, only one left, according to a recently published analysis by Redfin.com, a tech real estate brokerage firm. [Source: The Center Square]

Future Florida launch competition? Georgia spaceport nears FAA approval

After nine years of planning and $10 million invested by local taxpayers, county officials in Georgia’s coastal southeast corner came a big step closer Thursday to winning federal approval of a project engineered to literally inject the local economy with rocket fuel. Since 2012, Camden County on the Georgia-Florida line has doggedly pursued plans to build and operate the 13th licensed U.S. commercial rocket launch pad for blasting satellites into orbit. [Source: AP]

COVID-19 comp claims continue to plunge in Florida

The number of compensable COVID-19 workers compensation indemnity claims in Florida continued to drop drastically in May, according to a report released Wednesday by the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation. The new report shows the lowest number of such claims — 461 claims in May from a high of 8,390 in July 2020 — since the beginning of the pandemic. Overall, 43,913 indemnity claims have been filed in Florida, according to the latest data. [Source: Business Insurance]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› ‘This is not 2018,’ Gov. DeSantis says of Red Tide in Pinellas
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that the patchy Red Tide bloom off Pinellas County is not like the devastating and persistent algae that hit the area in 2018, and he expects a strong Fourth of July for the local tourism economy. “This is not 2018,” he said. “I think we see some localized (Red Tide), so check whatever, but this is a great place to be. There’s very few places in this country that are as nice as this Tampa Bay region.”

› SpaceX launches GPS satellite on Space Force's first used booster mission
The Space Force is officially on board with SpaceX's rocket reusability efforts. A previously flown, 230-foot Falcon 9 soared from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:09 p.m. Thursday, taking the military branch's latest Global Positioning System satellite to orbit. It marked the first Pentagon-approved flight on a used Falcon first stage.

› WestShore Plaza mall owner files for bankruptcy
Washington Prime Group, a mall company whose properties include WestShore Plaza in Tampa, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Sunday, the company is seeking a financial restructuring that will allow it to pay down debt and stabilize a business model that was hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, as more customers turned online to do their shopping.

› Covius Holdings building-out larger space at Wells Fargo Center
Covius Holdings Inc., led by former EverBank Financial Corp. leaders Rob Clements and John Surface, is preparing to build-out and improve space at its local offices on the 16th floor of Wells Fargo Center Downtown. Clements is chairman and CEO of Covius. Surface is president and COO.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

Tags: Daily Pulse

In case you missed it:

Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

Ballot Box

Should Congress ban the popular social media app TikTok in the U.S.?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Need more details
  • What is TikTok?
  • Other (Comment below)

See Results

Florida Trend Media Company
490 1st Ave S
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727.821.5800

© Copyright 2024 Trend Magazines Inc. All rights reserved.