ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida's unemployment rate jumped in July, with Central Florida continuing to lead the way.

Statewide, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said the unemployment rate for July 2020 was 11.3 percent with 223,000 Floridians reentering the workforce, up from 10.4 percent in June. 

Florida is one of only nine states that saw unemployment rise in July.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced Friday that the Orlando area lost 114,400 private sector jobs over the year. The unemployment rate in the Orlando area was 15.3 percent for July.

Osceola and Orange counties continue to lead the state in unemployment rates in part because of the high rate of tourism and hospitality workers. 

DEO reports 42 percent of Osceola County’s workforce have applied for benefits, along with 31.3 percent of Orange County’s workforce.

With more than 16.3 million Americans still unemployed amid the pandemic, WalletHub researchers found Florida has one of the slowest employment recovery rates in the nation.

Between March 15 and August 19, DEO has provided benefits to more than 1.8 million Floridians, although the agency has yet to say how many claimants have been paid in full.

The future employment picture in Florida – and in Central Florida specifically – remains uncertain.

Hundreds of companies have notified Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in recent months that it will continue to extend furloughs or layoff thousands of workers.

Some of those layoffs include contract workers hired to assist FL DEO process claims and answer claimant questions.

On Friday, DEO call center contractor Titan Technologies confirmed it laid off approximately 100 remote call center agents.

“Titan Technologies can confirm there have been a limited number of changes recent regarding call center agents needed to serve the reemployment assistance efforts for the State of Florida,” the company said in a statement to Spectrum News. “This intentional workforce rebalance by Titan Technologies values the standards and level of commitment we believe every taxpayer in the State of Florida deserves. For the first time since joining the efforts to help our fellow Floridians, we have averaged a reduced call volume and, as a result, have stopped recruiting new employees. We’re also excited to share that in a relatively short window, more than 3,000 fully trained agents have joined our call centers with the ability to assist all claimants at a level equivalent to DEO staff. We know those are big positives for the State of Florida and we’re proud to continue to be of service.”

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has not answered repeated questions over the past few months about specific staffing and call volume data.

In the case of the most recent layoffs, a DEO spokesperson told Spectrum News that “…the Department has not made any requests for downsizing.”

Last month, DEO said it was ended contracts with AECOM and United Data Technologies, which led to what was described by some as “massive layoffs”.