Florida Pays Out $1.83 Billion In Unemployment Benefits

TALLAHASSEE, FL — While many out-of-work Florida residents continue to struggle to apply for unemployment or await confirmation that their applications have been accepted, 711,896 Floridians laid off from work due to the coronavirus pandemic have received unemployment checks as of Wednesday.

According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the DEO has paid out nearly 1.83 billion in unemployment benefits to Floridians. Of those funds, $657,280,099 came from unemployment insurance paid out by Florida employers while $1,152,407,400 was paid through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation fund and $16,520, 518 was paid through the Federal Pandemic Assistance fund.

However, that's a fraction of those who have applied or are attempting to apply through the state's backlogged unemployment system.

The DEO reported that it has now processed 1,148,656 unemployment claims. Of those, 332,830 were deemed ineligible for state or federal reemployment assistance. According to the DEO, 67,105 contracted or self-employed workers were eligible only for the $600-a-week federal pandemic assistance.

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The overwhelming number of payouts have been to food service workers (115,313). Benefits also went to 41,364 people laid off from the retail industry; 18,765 from arts, entertainment and recreation industries; 8,722 from construction; and 8,108 from manufacturing.

The DEO is urging unemployed Floridians to apply on the recently launched mobile-friendly online application. A step-by-step guide on how to file a Reemployment Assistance claim is available here. For the Reemployment Assistance Resource Guide which includes frequently asked questions, click here.

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