By News Service of Florida
First-time unemployment claims in Florida slowed heading into the Independence Day holiday weekend.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 4,337 initial unemployment applications were filed in the state last week, down from 5,733 the week ending June 27.
The latest figure marks the fourth consecutive week the numbers have declined, but this also comes as state offices were closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday.
This current trend follows the state’s first monthly jobs report since last summer in which the unemployment rate didn’t increase. The rate for May was 4.8 percent.
Over the past four weeks, the state has averaged 5,788 claims a week. Since the start of the year, the weekly average is 5,938.