Manatee jobless rate rises to 11.8 percent, as economy begins to reopen in pandemic
Even as Manatee County businesses reopen under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive orders, the number of unemployment assistance claims continue to grow.
Manatee County’s unemployment rate now stands at 11.8 percent, with 21,246 out of a workforce of 179,993 filing unemployment assistance claims, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity dashboard.
Last week, the DEO reported that 18,390 Manatee County residents, or 10.2 percent of the workforce had filed claims.
In February, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the area, Manatee County enjoyed a robust economy and a 3 percent unemployment rate.
Florida had 173,731 new unemployment assistance claims this week, down from 225,404 filed a week earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We fully expect the rate to continue to climb. Right now we’re talking with people whose unemployment claims have been declared ineligible, yet they are unemployed so should eventually be deemed as eligible. There are also many independent contractors and gig workers who will be determined eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) once the state gets through the backlog of claims,” Jen Zak, communications director for CareerSource Suncoast, said in an email on Thursday.
Last week, Florida was awarded $12 million in federal funding through the Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant in response to COVID-19, and CareerSource Suncoast received $400,000 of these funds to provide disaster relief employment in the form of temporary jobs.
“Our team is working closely with employers to place unemployed people in temporary positions that focus on humanitarian assistance and cleanup activities related to COVID-19 for up to three months. Of course, the overall goal is to connect job seekers with employers who may consider them for full-time employment when the temporary position is up,” Zak said.
The unemployed may file claims for assistance at floridajobs.org.
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For help in finding a job, applicants may visit the CareerSource Suncoast website at careersourcesuncoast.com/companies and jobfocus.com, a service hosted by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.
The Manatee Chamber recently launched www.RecoverManatee.com, containing information and resources to help businesses as the economy restarts.
“We’ve had thousands of interactions with local business people in the greater Manatee County region over the past two and a half months as we navigate the COVID-19 crisis,” said Jacki Dezelski, president and CEO of the Manatee Chamber.
“We know that one of the most important tools we can offer is direct access to accurate, reliable information in a way that is fast and easy to use. As the Manatee Chamber continues to build-out RecoverManatee, please share your ideas with us on how it can be an even better resource.” she said.
Links on the Chamber website include include information on:
▪ Relief – Access to information, assistance, and resources including loan/grant programs, tax credits, fee and filing deadline changes, and more.
▪ Restart – Links for guidance and recommendations during Phase 1, with updates as Florida moves into new phases, including CDC and OSHA guidelines, industry-specific resources, links to vendors for health and safety products, and more.
▪ Recovery – Links to webinars covering a variety of topics that can help with the development of strategies for recovery. A future focus will be on mid- and longer-range measures needed to transition from “restart” to a recovery that reverses this economic downturn and positions businesses and the economy to return to a growth trajectory.
▪ Reimagine – As the community, state, and country explore long-term strategies to build resiliency in our economy, it is critical that the voice of local business is heard. The Florida Scorecard offers a synopsis of important metrics that inform a 2030 Plan for our state with the ability to drill down to the county level.
The Chamber’s RecoverManatee initiative is supported by the Knight Foundation’s Bradenton COVID Response Fund of Manatee Community Foundation and the website was designed by Webtivity Marketing & Design.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 11:29 AM.
