The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 6,074 first-time unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida, down from a revised count of 6,286 during the week that ended Feb. 3.
The state has averaged 6,205 claims a week since the start of the year, up from an average of 5,774 for all of 2023.
The Department of Labor estimated 212,000 claims were filed nationwide last week, a decrease of 8,000 claims from the previous week.
Florida had a 3 percent unemployment rate in December, with an estimated 334,000 Floridians out of work from a labor force of 11.194 million.
The state Department of Commerce will release a January rate on March 11. The national rate in January was 3.7 percent.
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