Florida Jobless Claims Dip

By The News Service of Florida

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,941 initial unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida, down from a revised count of 6,448 during the week that ended Aug. 9. Since the start of April, the state has averaged 6,621 first-time claims a week.

Nationally, an estimated 235,000 claims were filed last week, up from 224,000 during the previous week. The national numbers are seasonally adjusted, while the state numbers are not adjusted. Florida has had a 3.7 percent unemployment rate for the past four months. The national unemployment rate in July was 4.2 percent, up from 4.1 percent a month earlier. The Florida Department of Commerce will release an August unemployment report on Sept. 19.