New unemployment claims have been falling in Florida for three straight weeks.
The latest U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) report shows the number of first-time jobless filings declined for the week ending May 2, continuing a three-week streak. But the latest decline is modest, dropping by just 187 claims, to 5,400, from the week ending April 25, when there were 5,587 claims.
The latest DOL figures also don’t account for a major employment development, as Spirit Airlines shut down on May 2. At least 4,800 Spirit workers, particularly in South and Central Florida, lost their jobs. Airline officials announced the company went out of business following Spirit’s inability to cope with soaring fuel costs in the wake of the war with Iran.
FloridaCommerce, the state’s business development bureau, held “rapid response” emergency relief worker assistance events both in Orange and Broward counties last week to help displaced airline workers recover from their job losses.
Meanwhile, as first-time unemployment claims continue to drop, that’s juxtaposed against the rising general unemployment rate for Florida. That figure has steadily increased every month this year, according to FloridaCommerce data.
The March jobless rate climbed to 4.7%, and the unemployment rate has not decreased for any month this year. The March figure is up over the February rate of 4.6%. That was a jump over the January figure of 4.5%.
Another troubling trend is that Florida’s unemployment rate has come in higher than the national rate every month of 2026. That’s notable, as for about five years, Florida’s unemployment rate had been lower than the national rate.
March’s national unemployment rate was 4.3%. And the national figure even decreased in March, falling from the February figure of 4.4%.
More than half of the 25 metropolitan areas FloridaCommerce tracks for employment data saw year-to-year decreases in the number of jobs in March.
FloridaCommerce is expected to release the April unemployment rate by the end of this month.
