FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A half million Floridians applied for unemployment benefits last week, according to figures released Thursday, as a statewide task force continued examining when businesses shuttered and forced to lay off workers because of the new coronavirus can reopen.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that more than 505,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits were filed in Florida last week, pushing the state's number of claims filed for unemployment well past 1 million claims since businesses around the state started closing last month under lockdown orders from municipalities and then Florida's governor.