ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida has seen more people apply for unemployment benefits for the second week in a row.
At the end of December, there were 650,000 Floridians out of work. Now, there are more than 700,000.
Restaurant worker John Kemp is one of them.
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“My last day of work was March 16,” Kemp said.
For those like Kemp, the layoffs of last spring have endured. Bills continue to come in, but the jobs are not back.
New numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics show the trend for Florida. Initial unemployment claims have increased every week this year and are now almost triple what they were at the end of 2020.
The most recent data from the state suggests the continued struggles of leisure and hospitality, coupled with seasonal jobs ending, is driving this trend.
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Central Florida has been hit especially hard, as Orange and Osceola counties continue to have among the highest unemployment in the state.
“I’ve been putting out applications trying to find another job as well as talking to my previous employer and, so far, nothing’s come up yet,” Kemps said.
Complicating matters is uncertainty about the scope of a federal stimulus package.
Aid to the airlines, a critical component of leisure and hospitality, will expire at the end of March unless renewed.
Restaurants are also anticipating aid, but it remains unclear what that could look like.
See the full report in the video above.
Cox Media Group
