Unemployment in Florida
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting Florida’s backlog of at least 560,000 people attempting to claim unemployment benefits who have been unable to do so, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is claiming the system has vastly improved.
In fact, there’s a brand new website to apply for unemployment. However, you can only use this new website if you haven’t already filed for unemployment at some point.
There is no system in place right now for self-employed people who don’t qualify for Florida’s $275 per week benefits, but do qualify for the $600 weekly federal benefits. Regardless, we still recommend everyone to apply for now.
Another issue is that benefits begin the week you apply, not the week you were laid off. If people can’t apply because the system is broken, they won’t get money until their application does work. This is a concern that should be addressed this week by the state government.
One more option if the new website doesn’t work is a paper application that can be printed and mailed. If you go to FedEx, they will print and mail it for you. There will be some processing delays as usual, but this is one way to get around the website. If you have any questions about unemployment or self-employment resources, give us a call at 727-729-2719.