The number of Floridians who filed new unemployment claims last week remained almost unchanged from the previous week.
Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department suggests some stabilization in job losses as Florida businesses have started reopening after being closed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
The labor agency reported that Floridians filed 223,927 jobless claims last week, compared to 223,082 claims filed in the previous week.
Only California and New York had more new claims filed last week.
The numbers come as Florida has tried to bolster its troubled online unemployment system and as Governor Ron DeSantis has moved forward with the first phase of an economic-reopening plan.
“This is a difficult time. I think we're transitioning, hopefully, into a time where the economy can start to do a little bit better and hopefully much better in the not too distant future,” DeSantis said.
Florida’s tourism industry has been hardest hit, with almost a quarter of the workers who've filed jobless claims coming from that industry.
News Service of Florida contributed to this story.
