With the state set to issue a detailed unemployment report Friday, first-time jobless claims decreased last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 7,694 first-time unemployment claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Jan. 15, down from a revised count of 10,103 claims the previous week.
The Labor Department had initially estimated 9,705 applications were filed in Florida during the week that ended Jan. 8.
In all, the department reported Thursday that 286,000 first-time claims were filed nationally last week. That was up 55,000 from the previous week and put the average over the past four weeks at 231,000 claims.
Florida has averaged 6,585 claims over the past four weeks and 7,265 claims a week since mid-May, when efforts were increased by the state to push people back into the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state Department of Economic Opportunity will release a report Friday showing December employment numbers.
Florida in November had a 4.5 percent unemployment rate, with an estimated 483,000 Floridians out of work from a labor force of 10.63 million.