The tourism-dependent state of Florida has more than 400,000 jobless people as the state eases its restrictions for Phase 1.


Unemployment in the United States

Many got laid-off since the beginning of the nationwide lockdown due to the global health pandemic that has infected almost 3 million people around the world. According to Johns Hopkins University, the disease has claimed the lives of thousands of people.

This pandemic has dramatically affected the economy of almost all countries around the globe, putting them in a state of recession. It affected even the most industrialized countries like the United States. In the U.S. alone, almost 30 million filed for unemployment in the hope of receiving financial aid.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 4.44 million filed for unemployment during the third week of April while 3.84 million during the last week of the same month. This supersedes the projection of economists that unemployment claims could only be around 3.5 million every week.

Based on the analysis of a news outlet, if each claimant will be counted as unemployed or jobless even after Phase 1, where more business will be opened, it will mean that the country has reached 22 percent jobless rate. This means that this will be the highest since the Great Depression in the 1930s and even higher in 2009.


Florida has the Highest Unemployment Claims Filed in the U.S.  

The state of Florida mostly depends on its economy and employment in tourism. During the last week of April, the state has recorded the highest claimants of unemployment benefits that reached almost 400,000, and they outstripped California with around 320,000.

This is already expected because, under Phase 1, public gathering of more than ten people is still not allowed. This means that many of the businesses that are inclined to tourism are still close. However, many also cannot apply for this program because of their immigration status.

Florida is also one of the slowest states in the nation in processing and paying its claimants. Gov. Ron DeSantis explained that the problem was due to the unemployment website, which he described as a glitch-ridden "clunker" and "a jalopy." He also blamed his predecessor, Rick Scott, for the system that he inherited.

This problem has resulted in almost half a million jobless Floridians who are still waiting for their checks six weeks after the widespread shutdown began. Half a million also were very angry and desperate because of the slow action of the state government.

Tom Davis, a freelance musician from Florida, shared that he had already lost around $16,000 in revenue since his entertainment work stopped during the middle of March.

Davis said: "I have a new full-time job, unpaid, and that's trying to file my claim through the Florida unemployment site. The 'unexpected technical error' is a page that it defaults to when the system shuts down on you as you're logging in or trying to log in. I've had a few eight- to 10-hour days just trying to get to the next step in the process."

Moreover, to address the issue of the states' website, they said that they would shut down the system for three days and overhaul the program to create new servers. They also offer paper applications as an alternative to ease high volume website traffic.


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