Unemployment spikes in Manatee County due to COVID-19. But some companies are hiring
The country’s coronavirus pandemic-driven unemployment pain seems to be deepening as more than 13.4 million Americans filed claims for assistance during the past two weeks.
The numbers are staggering with 6,606,000 claims filed in the week ending April 4, and 6,867,000 claims filed in the week ending March 28. In Florida, there were 169,885 assistance claims filed the week ending April 4, and 228,484 the week before, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
There were 2,745 claims filed in Manatee county for the week ending April 4.
The state’s actual number of unemployed is believed to even higher, considering that applicants overwhelmed the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity web site, leading executive director Ken Lawson to apologize for the meltdown.
Still, the villain is the pandemic that has locked down Manatee County’s tourist-driven economy, throwing many restaurant and hotel workers out of a job. Palmetto-based Feld Entertainment shut down its touring shows and shed large numbers of workers.
CareerSource Suncoast tries to match those seeking jobs with employers who have openings.
“Our Business Services team is still calling employers daily and while we have heard from several who have a few job openings, we haven’t heard from anyone this week who has many openings that they need to fill immediately,” said Jen Zak, communications director for CareerSource Suncoast, in a text Thursday.
“We are on track for around 3,000 incoming calls again. The majority of calls are still individuals with questions about filing for reemployment assistance and we’re answering what we can. The Department of Economic Opportunity has trained several of our staff members to reset pins which has been one of the major roadblocks for folks filing for assistance,” she said.
“We also placed printed applications and pre-stamped envelopes at our Bradenton and Sarasota career centers to make it convenient for people who haven’t been able to file online and who don’t have printers,” Zak said.
Due to the pandemic, filing for unemployment is done online at employflorida.com.
For help in finding a job, applicants may visit the CareerSource Suncoast website at https://careersourcesuncoast.com/employers/ and jobfocus.com, a service hosted by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.
Among jobs now listed are warehouse associates by 24Seven Enterprises; welders and production techs by Air Products; plumbers, appliance and HVAC techs by Badger Bob’s Service; medical aides, housekeepers and more at Brookdale Senior Living; media specialists at BSwanky; LPNs, clinic techs, and care managers at Centerstone; field techs and customer support at Charter Communications/ Spectrum; and customer service reps and claims assistants at FCCI.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
