First-time unemployment claims in Florida and across the nation dipped last week, while a study showed small businesses continuing to grapple with supply-chain issues.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated Florida had 6,072 unemployment claims during the week that ended June 25, down from a revised count of 6,500 during the week that ended June 18. The initial estimate for the week ending June 18 was 5,778. Florida claim totals are similar to the pace before the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive job losses in 2020.
Florida has averaged 6,351 claims over the past four weeks. Nationally, an estimated 231,000 claims were filed last week, down 2,000 from the prior week.
Florida had a 3 percent unemployment rate in May. The state Department of Economic Opportunity will release a June unemployment report on July 22.
The new Labor Department claims estimates came after a HelpAdvisor.com report released Wednesday showed 25.4 percent of Florida small businesses needing to find new supply-chain links within the next six months. That was slightly higher than the national average of 24.2 percent. Nationally, 44 percent of small businesses reported recent delays with domestic suppliers.
