- October 5, 2026
First-time unemployment claims in Florida rose slightly as August came to an end.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,294 initial unemployment applications were filed in Florida last week, up from a revised count of 5,205 the week ending Aug. 22.
The pace of new applications has mostly been on a decline since hitting 7,334 the week ending July 11.
Nationally, Labor estimated 206,000 claims were filed last week, an increase of 2,000 from the prior week’s revised level.
The state recently lowered its unemployment rate for the second consecutive month. The figure had been rising slowly for more than a year.
Florida’s 4.6 percent unemployment rate represents an estimated 515,000 Floridians qualified as out-of-work from a labor force of 11.1 million in July.
The national rate stands at 4.1 percent.
