On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told unemployed Floridians that May will be the last month they can collect unemployment benefits without proving they are looking for a job.
“Governor Ron DeSantis lifted the requirement that people receiving benefits look for work early in the pandemic when unemployment was rising and few were hiring,” CBS Miami reported. “But DeSantis has lifted restrictions on businesses, and the unemployment rate is below the national average.”
“Normally when you’re getting unemployment, the whole idea is that it’s temporary, and you need to be looking for work to be able to get off unemployment,” DeSantis said. “It was a disaster, so we suspended those job search requirements. I think it’s pretty clear now — we have an abundance of job openings.”
“We absolutely can put more people to work,” he continued. “The demand is there. Businesses want to hire more people, and I think we can go in that direction very soon.”
“I think now we’re in just a different situation, you have a surplus of jobs, particularly in restaurant, lodging, hospitality, that people want to hire,” DeSantis said. “I mean, you see the signs all over the place. Look, that’s a good problem to have. But we also just want to make sure, like, look, if you’re really unemployed, can’t get a job, that’s one thing. But making sure that you’re doing your due diligence to look for work, and making sure those incentives align, better.”
The unemployment rate has been rapidly decreasing in Florida. The Miami Herald reported in March that Florida’s unemployment rate had reached “the lowest among any large state in the nation.” However, the state’s overall labor force, which is both employed and unemployed workers, has decreased 3.7% since pre-pandemic levels – a result of people deciding to live off the government and stop looking for a job.
