Florida’s unemployment claims decreased last week, indicating a return to pre-hurricane levels. The state Department of Commerce is set to release the official October unemployment rate on Friday.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the state processed 6,356 initial unemployment claims for the week ending November 9th, down from the revised figure of 6,841 the previous week. These numbers align with the annual average of 6,576 claims per week.
The recent decline follows a spike in claims after Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall in Florida. The state experienced a surge in claims to 9,556 and 10,800, respectively, in the weeks following these storms.
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Florida’s unemployment rate has remained relatively low, averaging 3.3% from April to September. This is significantly lower than the national unemployment rate, which stood at 4.1% in October.
Nationally, initial jobless claims also decreased, falling from 221,000 to 217,000 in the latest week.
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