TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Nearly 170,000 first-time unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida, as the coronavirus-caused surge continues, according to an estimate from the U.S.
Department of Labor. Florida’s number --- part of a second consecutive week of 6.6 million claims being filed nationwide --- was down from the prior week.
However, it represents a period before the state started to expand the use of paper applications because people were unable to file through the troubled online CONNECT unemployment system.
The Department of Labor report indicates the Florida number is driven by layoffs in a variety of sectors, as businesses shut down or scaled back amid social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the deadly disease