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Three hundred dollars a week in supplemental unemployment payments is coming to an end for unemployed Floridians as of June 26th.

The state justified the change because hundreds of thousands of jobs are remaining vacant.

Help wanted signs are everywhere, but tens of hundreds of thousands of jobs are going unfilled.

Restaurants and lodging are the hardest hit.

“We’ve offered bonuses. I have members who have offered free cars,” said Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association President Carol Dover.

The lack of employees comes as Florida is quickly reopening.

“The people are flocking, but we don’t have enough labor to open the doors full fledged to let them in. We have hotels who are leaving forty percent of their inventory what we call dark,” said Dover.

At a bill signing in south Florida the Governor said the end of the additional $300-a-week unemployment payments, is to encourage people to go back to work sooner.

“We’ve got almost a half a million job openings in the state of Florida,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Unions and workers advocates argue the change isn’t going to force people back into jobs, but into food lines.

Karen Woodall of the People’s Advocacy Center told us the change will leave many people with nothing.

“People who have been out of work for most of 2020 and all of this year, and have used their savings if they had any. Who have borrowed money, who are behind on their rent. Who are behind on their car payment, who are struggling. Yes, it makes a huge difference,” said Woodall.

The end of the extra cash follows a state edict requiring those receiving or applying for unemployment to prove they have been looking for work.

The requirement was waived during the pandemic, but it goes back in force this Friday.

Workers advocates say Florida’s work requirements for unemployment are so strict, fewer than 15 percent of those out of work qualify.

Efforts to increase benefits and add additional weeks failed during the legislative session.