Sunshine Sentinel

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced that the state is lifting the suspension of job search requirements for Floridians to continue receiving unemployment benefits at the end of May.

In other words, Florida unemployment recipients will have to prove that they are actively attempting to secure employment to continue receiving unemployment benefits starting in June. 

The requirement was suspended in March 2020 because of decreased job openings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Action News Jax reported. The economy is now showing signs of recovery, especially in the hard-hit food and lodgings sectors.

“I think it’s pretty clear now we have an abundance of job openings," DeSantis said, as reported by Action News Jax. "If you go to businesses, they want to hire people. Particularly in hospitality – restaurants and all these things."

Advocates for lifting the ban say that ending the suspension will bring more Floridians back into the workforce, help the economy and keep prices low, particularly in the restaurant and hospitality industries.

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association said that unemployment benefits are keeping many from applying for the many new industry positions, forcing businesses to increase their prices to be able to compete with unemployment wages, Foster Folly News reported.

“Now we’re as busy as we’ve been. The weather has been great and we’re trying to keep up,” Don Nicol, owner of Jacksonville’s TacoLu restaurant, said, as reported by Foster Folly News.

Nicol added that while his restaurant is hiring, he is seeing few applications submitted, and hopes that ending this suspension will increase applications and employment around the state. He also said that some smaller restaurants and bars have resorted to increasing starting wages to lure in new applicants.

TacoLu was recently packed for the Cinco de Mayo holiday and Nicol said it was one of the busiest holidays he’s ever seen as owner and the busiest day of the year for the restaurant.

A University of Chicago study found that states that cutting down the amount of unemployment benefit recipients could account for as much as 75% of increased job growth following the changes.