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Jobless Claims Slowing After Ian Bump
Unemployment claims in Florida continued to slow last week, but applications still rolled in at a higher pace than before Hurricane Ian hit the state Sept. 28.
The U.S. Department of Labor released a report Thursday that said an estimated 7,086 initial jobless claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Nov. 5, down from a revised count of 7,803 during the week that ended Oct. 29.
Last week’s total was the lowest weekly number since the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Southwest Florida and swept across the state.
Florida averaged 5,498 new claims in the four weeks before Ian.
Nationally, 225,000 new claims were filed last week, up 7,000 from the prior week.
Florida’s unemployment rate in September was a historic low of 2.5 percent, though the storm hit after the September data was collected.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity will release an October report on Nov. 18.
