ORLANDO, Fla — A bit of good news, amid complaints over Florida's struggling unemployment system.
Initial jobless claims dropped by more than half last week compared to the prior week.
According to U.S. Department of Labor figures released Thursday, Florida had 173,191 initial claims for unemployment benefits last week.
That compares to 433,103 initial claims in the week prior.
Florida officials say more than 1.1 million confirmed claims have been submitted since mid-March.
Of that number, almost 481,500 claimants, or 43%, have been paid more than $1 billion, as of Tuesday.
Unemployed Floridians have complained widely about the state’s online system for registering claims making the process of filing for benefits extremely difficult.
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