Florida unemployment

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association launched the free servicee to help laid off and furloughed people find work. About 600 businesses have already posted positions.

State and business officials have argued that the $300 a week in federal aid is keeping people from returning to jobs.

The return of workers to the leisure and hospitality sectors continues to be at a slower pace than in some other industries.

Bill sponsor Sen. Jason Brodeur says he sought the $100 boost after seeing what other states are doing.

Some people who have lost their jobs during the pandemic are training for a new career at St. Petersburg College. Workers in the hard-hit restaurant and hotel industry are among those signing up.

Florida's biggest industry — tourism — is still hurting. But over the past year, the state has gained jobs in warehousing, delivery services, and home construction.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity reported Monday that Florida’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.8% in January, down 0.3 percentage points from a revised December rate.

Part of the reason is that tourists are next expected to flock to Florida in the coming months.

It now stands at 6.1%, below the national rate of 6.7%.

The state’s jobs agency had not posted a timetable about extended unemployment benefits, and no formal announcement had been made about whether Floridians will be covered for the current week because of when the $900 billion federal package was signed.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity on Friday posted a 6.4 percent jobless rate for November, equal to a revised jobless mark for October. The unemployment rate in November 2019, before the pandemic hammered the economy, was 2.8 percent.

Some states carved out single-day poll workers from being denied unemployment benefits. Florida did not.