FL Unemployment Rate Teeters Near Top 15 In U.S., WalletHub Says

FLORIDA — Amid fluctuations and the cooling of inflation, finance experts put Florida near the top of the pack for an increase in unemployment claims.

Personal-finance website WalletHub released Thursday its findings on unemployment in the nation, and where individual states stand among their counterparts and the District of Columbia.

Experts utilized changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks and the number of claims per 100,000 people in the labor force to support its data.

Overall, WalletHub said unemployment claims rose by 3.6 percent week-over-week on May 27 with 6.5 million citizens currently unemployed.

As for Florida, WalletHub said last week's unemployment claims are 10.26 percent higher than the previous week and 6.33 percent higher than in 2023.

Florida ranked 17th in unemployment claims, making it one of multiple states to have a steady increase in unemployment since last week. The Sunshine State had 43 claims per 100,000 people in labor force.

Florida, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Alabama and Pennsylvania are among several states whose unemployment claims last week were higher than in the previous week.

State officials remain optimistic about Florida's employment landscape. In May, FloridaCommerce announced an employment over-the year growth rate of 1.4 percent, noting 148,000 more people joined the workforce.

At least $8 billion have been invested into Florida's labor development since 2019, state officials said.

"Thanks to Gov. (Ron) DeSantis’ investments in workforce education, infrastructure and Florida’s overall financial readiness, Florida is now a state with significant growth in high wage, high demand high tech and manufacturing jobs, even compared to just five years ago," Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly said in May in a news release.

“Florida’s private sector job growth and business growth is reflective of our state increasingly meeting the needs of job creators in numerous high growth, high demand sectors, giving Florida families tremendous opportunities to elevate themselves and their families.”

State officials said Florida saw a 3.3. percent unemployment rate in April, setting it at 0.6 percent lower than the national rate of 3.9 percent.

"Florida’s unemployment rate has remained below the national rate for 42 consecutive months. Under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership, Florida has made strategic investments in workforce development that have resulted in Florida ranking No. 1 in state in the nation for higher education, state in the nation for talent development and state in the nation for entrepreneurship.

See WalletHub's full methodology here.