Sunshine Sentinel

Florida will officially withdraw from the federal pandemic assistance program that increased state unemployment compensation by $300 per week, according to a press report.

The announcement on May 24 by Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration makes Florida the 23rd state to opt-out of the federal monthly increase in unemployment benefits.

“The jobs are there. We’re proud of the fact that we’ve got a lot of economic momentum,” DeSantis said. “Now we’re transitioning from relief in the midst of a crisis to now having the more traditional re-employment outlook.”

Unemployed Floridians can currently earn nearly double that of a minimum wage worker with the $300 monthly increase. According to Department of Economic Development Secretary Dane Eagle, eliminating these additional benefits would aid businesses in hiring qualified employees.

“Florida’s employers are seeing employment growth, as more Floridians, including some who completely left the workforce, are now eagerly reentering the workforce,” Eagle told Politico. “Transitioning away from this benefit will help meet the demands of small and large businesses who are ready to hire and expand their workforce.”

President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders, on the other hand, have refuted the argument that Americans are choosing to remain at home and receive more unemployment benefits rather than seek available work.

"We don't see much evidence of that," Biden told reporters during a White House press conference, "Americans want to work."

Without the federal supplement, unemployed Floridians would get no more than $275 a week in assistance, one of the lowest weekly benefits in the nation.

Florida will continue to participate in other federal unemployment programs designed to support workers and contractors while extending state benefits past their typical expiration date.

According to Florida’s April Labor Statistics report, approximately 20,000 Floridians were hired in April, with 460,000 more job openings to be filled.