By News Service of Florida
First-time jobless claims declined in Florida for a third consecutive week, following a spike last month when nearly 5,000 Spirit Airlines workers were laid off in the state when the carrier shut down operations.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,167 initial unemployment applications were filed in Florida last week, down from a revised count of 5,970 the week ending May 23. The numbers fell from 8,164 the week ending May 9, when the layoffs by the Dania Beach-based passenger air carrier were announced, to 6,224 the week ending May 16.
Spirit’s downfall affected 4,853 employees in Broward, Miami-Dade and Orange counties.
The numbers for the past three weeks are more in line with the average weekly claims for the state since the beginning of the year, which is now 5,875 a week. Yet despite the mostly steady pace of claims, Florida has seen its unemployment rate grow in eight consecutive monthly jobs reports.
The state jobless rate stands at 4.8 percent, reflecting mid-April conditions, with 532,000 unemployed Floridians from a labor force of 11.15 million.
Nationally, 225,000 claims were filed last week, up from 212,000 the week ending May 23.