A hiring sign in front of a local store. {Photo by Eric Prouzet]
First-time unemployment claims in Florida last week hit a low for the year as Hurricane Idalia swept through parts of the state ahead of the Labor Day holiday.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 4,620 initial unemployment claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Sept. 2, down from a revised count of 5,393 during the week that ended Aug. 26.
Nationally, an estimated 216,000 initial claims were filed last week, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week.
The total for Florida was the lowest since 4,238 were recorded during the holiday-shortened week that ended Dec. 31. Florida has averaged 5,370 claims over the past four weeks and 5,773 claims a week since the start of the year.
Florida had a 2.7 percent unemployment rate in July.
The Florida Department of Commerce will release an August report on Sept. 15. Last Friday, the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. added 187,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate went from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent.
