Initial unemployment claims in Florida dipped last week, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The report estimated that 5,277 initial claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Sept. 24, down from a revised count of 5,833 during the week that ended Sept. 17.

The numbers came amid continued concerns about a looming recession.

Over the past four weeks, Florida has averaged 5,449 new claims, which is below the weekly average of 5,830 since the start of the year.

An estimated 193,000 initial unemployment claims were filed nationally last week, a decrease of 16,000 from the prior week.

The national unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in August, while Florida’s rate was 2.7 percent.

The Florida rate reflected an estimated 293,000 people out of work from a labor force of 10.706 million.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity will release a September report on Oct. 21.