The state experienced the
second most unemployment claims in the US since the start of the pandemic, with an unemployment increase of 1,683% compared with January last year, according to
data compiled by WalletHub.
Florida has
recorded over 1.6m cases and more than 25,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, the
third highest case count among states in the US and fourth in total deaths, although its population, at nearly 22 million, is the third largest.
Workers who have lost their jobs have been forced to rely on a
broken state unemployment system that has
experienced long delays, backlogs, system crashes and small payments as the state’s
maximum payout of $275 covers only a portion of the lost income for thousands of workers in the state.
Through 2020, Florida was the
second worst state in the US at paying unemployment benefits on time. Internal audits had
uncovered various issues with the state’s unemployment system for years before the pandemic hit, and elected officials are still conducting
reviews on how to fix the state’s ongoing unemployment failures.