Florida Opts Out Of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Payment Program

FLORIDA — On Monday, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that it is withdrawing from the federal pandemic unemployment assistance program on June 26 as part of the DEO's "Return to Work" initiative.

Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his plan to get Floridians who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic back to work.

Starting June 1, unemployed Floridians will have to prove that they applied for five jobs a week to qualify for the $275 a week in state unemployment benefits. The job search rule was lifted during the pandemic last year.

During the 2021 legislative session, the Florida Senate approved a bill that would have increased maximum weekly payments from $275 to $375, added more weeks in which benefits would be available and changed the work-search requirement. However, DeSantis opposed the bill and the House didn't take it up.

Florida's withdrawal from the federal program will mean unemployed residents will no longer qualify to receive the additional $300 a week from federal coronavirus recovery funds. The federal program expires Sept. 6.

Dane Eagle, secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said April’s labor statistics show total private-sector employment in Florida increased by 18,800 jobs and more than 460,000 online job postings.

“Thanks to Gov. DeSantis’ leadership, Florida’s economy has bounced back tremendously with over 460,000 jobs available throughout our state and the strongest economic conditions in the nation,” said Eagle. “Florida’s employers are also seeing employment growth, as more Floridians, including some who completely left the workforce, are now eagerly reentering the workforce. Transitioning away from this benefit will help meet the demands of small and large businesses who are ready to hire and expand their workforce.”

This job growth, he said, prompted him to end the $300 weekly federal unemployment payment beginning the week of June 27, which DeSantis has said incentivizes continued unemployment.

It's also the motivation for reinstating the work search requirement, Eagle said.

“So, if you’re applying for a job and not showing up for an interview, or refusing suitable work, that is going to be reported to us, and you will no longer be able to collect (state unemployment benefit),” Eagle said.

During a news conference earlier this month, DeSantis said Floridians need to get back to work.

"Normally when you're getting unemployment, the whole idea is that it's temporary and you need to be looking for work in order to be able to get off of unemployment and obviously work because that's what we want everyone to do. Well, when COVID hit, it was a disaster, so we suspended those job search requirements," he said.

"But I think it's pretty clear now we have an abundance of job openings," DeSantis said. "The demand is there. Businesses want to hire more people."

Florida business organizations were quick to support Dane's decision.

“Even though our industry is open for business, we are facing a dire labor shortage," Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO Carol Dover said. "Strong demand, coupled with this staffing shortage, has left many businesses forced to limit operating days and hours in addition to reducing capacity in both food service and lodging. Ending the supplemental $300 payment will help the industry regain pre-COVID levels."

“The decision to end Florida’s participation in the (federal) program is essential to keeping Florida’s economic momentum going that Gov. DeSantis has had such a big role in creating," Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said. "This single action will help fill thousands of these vacancies and aid in ending the worker shortage throughout the state."

After the coronavirus pandemic was declared and many businesses were forced to close their doors, Florida's unemployment rate rose to 13.8 percent. The DEO announced it has now dropped to 4.7 percent, below the national average.

The personal finance site, WalletHub, said weekly unemployment claims in Florida decreased by 92.08 percent last week compared to the same week last year. This was the biggest decrease in the U.S.