Unemployment claims rise in Florida

First-time unemployment claims in Florida increased last week by nearly 2,000 claims over the previous week.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 7,549 claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Aug. 17, the highest total in five weeks and up from a revised count of 5,562 during the week that ended Aug. 10.

The state has averaged 5,980 claims over the past four weeks.

Nationally, the Department of Labor estimated 232,000 claims were filed last week, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week.

The national unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in July, the highest it has been since October 2021. Florida’s unemployment rate has held at 3.3 percent the past four months.