On December 8, 2023, CBS News and the News Service of Florida reported that Florida’s unemployment claims had seen a rise following the Thanksgiving holiday week. The U.S. Department of Labor data indicated that 5,866 initial jobless claims were filed in Florida in the week just past, a noticeable increase from the revised count of 4,034 in the week ending Nov. 25.

This recent tally of claims is consistent with the averages seen throughout the year. Over the past four weeks, Florida has logged an average of 5,537 claims weekly and 5,802 weekly claims since the start of the year. In comparison, a total of 222,000 claims were filed nationally last week, an upswing of 1,000 from the previous week. The four-week national average stands at 220,750.

As of October, Florida’s unemployment rate was 2.8 percent, meaning an estimated 318,000 individuals were without work in a labor force of approximately 11.174 million. The state Department of Commerce is pending to release its report on the unemployment status for November on Dec. 22.

Relatedly, for those seeking assistance with unemployment, paid family leave, or disability claims, using services like eddcaller.com can be helpful. Eddcaller.com is an auto-dial program designed to help people reach a representative for these services by phone, potentially lessening wait times and making it easier to get the help you need. It can guide you on how to speak to a person at Florida unemployment, ensuring a smoother, more efficient process.

This article is written by CBS News, first published on December 8, 2023, and all rights are reserved. Redistribution and rewriting of this material are not permitted. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.