Florida continues to see higher numbers of unemployment claims than earlier in the year. The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday released a report that estimated 7,687 initial unemployment applications were filed in Florida during the week that ended July 13, up from 6,552 during the previous holiday-shortened week. Since the start of June, Florida has averaged 7,519 claims a week, after averaging 6,091 a week over the first five months of the year.
Florida had a 3.3 percent unemployment rate in May, with the Florida Department of Commerce scheduled to release a June report on Friday. Meanwhile, New York Sports Club has advised the Department of Commerce that it will close three locations in Fort Myers and Cape Coral, resulting in 108 job losses. Also, Delta Apparel notified the state that it will close locations in Orlando, Palm Beach Gardens, Pembroke Pines, Sarasota, St. Augustine, Estero and Daytona Beach, affecting nearly 50 workers.
Nationally, an estimated 243,000 unemployment claims were filed during the week that ended July 13, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week. The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in June.