TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity released the state unemployment report and the new numbers show that the Sunshine State’s unemployment rate is at a record high.
What You Need To Know
- State unemployment rate tripled within a month
- 1.2 million Floridians have lost their jobs
The state’s unemployment rate tripled from 4.3 percent in March to 12.9 percent in April.
The numbers confirm what many were worried about: More Floridians are out of work now than at any other time in the state’s history.
The new data shows that 1.2 million Floridians lost their jobs in March and April. That surpasses the record of just more than a million set in 2010.
More than 1 in 4 who lost a job were working for a restaurant, bar or other food service.
Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes the state re-opening can bring some of those jobs back.
“I think what we have to do, and one of the reasons I wanted to do a safe, smart, step-by-step approach to recovery. If we can get people back to work, get some confidence back in the communities, you’ll start to see a lot of these jobs recovered,” he said.
The Tampa Bay area mirrors a lot of what is being seen nationally at a rate of 13.1 unemployment, up from 4.3 in March.
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