First-time unemployment claims dipped last week in Florida, with the average weekly total remaining below 6,000 claims.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday issued a report that estimated 4,881 new unemployment claims were filed last week in the state, down from a revised count of 5,535 during the week that ended April 15.

Over the past four weeks, the state has averaged 5,448 claims.

Since the end of October, following a brief spike caused by Hurricane Ian, the weekly average has been 5,789.

The Department of Labor report estimated that 230,000 claims were filed nationally last week, down 16,000 from the previous week.

Florida had a 2.6 percent unemployment rate in March, with an estimated 283,000 Floridians out of work from a workforce of 10.92 million people.

The workforce has grown by 250,000 people over the past year.

The increase stems heavily from the leisure and hospitality sectors, which added 104,100 positions from March 2022 to March 2023.

Meanwhile, the construction sector has lost jobs this year, due mostly to a decline in residential construction.