- April 30, 2026
First-time jobless claims in Florida dipped for a second consecutive week, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The department projected 5,375 initial unemployment applications were filed in Florida last week, down from a revised count of 5,659 for the week ending April 18 and 6,387 the week ending April 11.
The pace remains on par with the average since the start of the year, which is now 5,754 first-time claims a week.
Meanwhile, Florida’s jobless rate has slowly increased to 4.6 percent from 3.7 percent last July.
The state rate reflects mid-February conditions, with an estimated 516,000 Floridians out of work from a workforce of 11.14 million.
Numbers for March will be released by the state Department of Commerce on Friday.
