Unemployment rate dips to 13.3% as economy recovers jobs

More than 2 million refilled as labor market begins to improve

The national unemployment rate declined to 13.3% for May as businesses started to slowly reopen around the country, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

The slightly improved labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that was sharply curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it. The national jobless rate for April was 14.7%.

The government said employment in May rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retailing — all important elements of Florida’s economy.

“The most recent jobs report suggests the economic recovery will be much faster than many expected,” said William Luther, an assistant professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University.

“The fast turnaround reflects the gradual lifting of economic restrictions in many states and reduced fears of consumers, workers, and business owners, who have a better understanding of the risks of COVID-19 than they did in mid-March when the slowdown in activity began,” Luther added.

The state is not scheduled to release its May unemployment rate for another two weeks. But steady reports of six-figure weekly unemployment claims throughout the month indicate the figure could surpass the state’s 12.9% jobless rate for April.

In Florida and elsewhere around the nation, state and local governments in May allowed business activity to resume gradually as businesses and public officials collaborated on ways to do so safely.

Restaurants were allowed to reopen, although at half capacity to safeguard against the coronavirus that started to savage the economy in mid-March.

A number of hotels and entertainment centers such as Disney and Universal in Central Florida are starting to reopen this month. And while thousands of travelers stayed home in May as airlines kept most of their planes on the ground, carriers announced this week they are resuming flights to various U.S. and international cities.

“As some return to work amid falling pandemic restrictions, the economy’s slow healing process appears to have begun,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “Still, a Bankrate survey finds the consensus among economists is that the jobless rate will remain in the double-digits into next year.” Small-business jobs market weaker

The state’s small businesses saw the jobs picture weaken in May as more owners laid off workers, while some had trouble rehiring employees, according to a survey released Friday by the National Federation of Independent Business in Florida.

In May, 44% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire, down three points from April. Of those trying to hire, 84% reported few or no “qualified” applicants for the positions they were looking to fill. Fifty-one percent of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants and 37% cited the shortage of qualified labor as their top business problem.

“The addition of 2.5 million jobs is encouraging. It could be a sign of the V-shaped recovery we’ve been hoping for,” said NFIB state executive director Bill Herrle of the national report. “Hopefully, when Florida’s unemployment report is released on the 19th, we’ll see more and more people back at work as small businesses emerge from the shutdown.”

In May, the state Department of Economic Opportunity recorded more than 800,000 new jobless claims, an indicator that closed and scaled-back businesses were not in a position to rehire all of the workers they had furloughed since March. Economists believe that many laid-off workers will no longer have jobs waiting for them as the economy ramps up again.

As of Wednesday, the DEO has paid more than 1.2 million people a total of nearly $4.25 billion in state and federally funded benefits since mid-March. But the agency’s figures show more than 600,000 claims have been ruled ineligible.