New jobless assistance applications fall again in Florida — but unexpectedly climb for U.S.
New applications for jobless assistance fell in Florida for the third straight week — but unexpectedly climbed for the rest of the U.S., signaling broader ongoing economic weakness as vaccine and reopening initiatives lurch to life.
For the week ending March 27, new jobless assistance claims fell in Florida from 17,349 to 11,700 — another new pandemic low for the state. The number of continuing claims, or among those filing for unemployment for at least two straight weeks, also fell in Florida — from 123,921 to 105,243.
But for the U.S., new claims climbed from 658,000 to 719,000 last week — well above a Bloomberg News forecast of 675,000 claims.
State unemployment systems in many states, including Florida, continue to see problems in processing jobless assistance applications, and week-to-week figures can be volatile.
Still, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at research group Pantheon Macroeconomics, called Thursday’s national data result “disappointing.”
And while Florida has benefited from a surge in spring travel, many South Florida residents continue to experience financial distress. In its most recent weekly survey of U.S. metro areas, the U.S. Census Bureau found 28% of area residents expect someone in their household to have a loss in employment income in the next four weeks — the second-highest percentage in the nation, and higher than the U.S. national rate of 19.2%.
Despite the lackluster result, Shepherdson says the worst of the economic crunch has passed.
“It’s clear that the trend in claims is falling,” he wrote. “We expect a sustained sharp decline in the second quarter as the economy reopens, making it easier for businesses under financial stress to hold onto employees.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 9:17 AM.
