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.