New Job Claims Hold Steady
By NSF Staff
First-time unemployment claims in Florida were relatively flat last week as the state prepares to again require jobless people to look for work . The U . S . Department of Labor estimated 17,849 new claims were filed during the week that ended May 15 , up from 17,555 the prior week . The figure for the week that ended May 8 also was revised upward from an earlier estimate of 14,872 claims . That was the 14th consecutive week that the state ’ s numbers were bumped up as additional data became available . Nationally , 444,000 new claims were filed last week , down 34,000 from the prior week . The national total last week was the lowest number of weekly claims since mid- March 2020 , when the COVID-19 pandemic began causing major job losses . Florida has averaged just under 20,000 claims a week since the start of February 2021 . The federal government released the new estimates a day before the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity will issue an April unemployment report . The state agency on June 1 will also start requiring new unemployment applicants to follow a “ work search ” rule that requires unemployment claimants to apply for five jobs a week . The state suspended the requirement last year because of the pandemic . Last Friday , the Department of Labor reported the U . S . economy added 266,000 jobs in April , well below expectations , raising the national unemployment rate from 6.0 to 6.1 percent .
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