Florida had a dip in new unemployment claims during the final week in which jobless people could get $300 a week in federal assistance.
In a report released Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that 6,086 new jobless claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended June 26, down from a revised count of 7,667 in the week that ended June 19.
The federal agency had initially projected 6,792 new claims during the week that ended June 19. The Department of Labor also estimated that 364,000 new claims were filed nationally last week, down 51,000 from the prior week.
The state and national numbers are the lowest since before March 15, 2020, which the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity marks as the start of the coronavirus pandemic for unemployment purposes.
Florida decided, effective June 26, to stop providing $300 a week in federal unemployment payments.
The federal money was made available as part of economic-stimulus efforts during the pandemic.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials said cutting off the federal payments was aimed at encouraging people to return to the workforce.
But opponents said it would take money away from jobless people who need additional help.
The state pays a maximum of $275 a week in unemployment benefits.
The state’s unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in May, reflecting 503,00 people qualifying as out of work from a workforce of 10.24 million.
A June unemployment report will be issued on July 16.
