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New unemployment numbers are due out tomorrow and right now Florida’s unemployment rate is well above the national average at 6.6 percent. The state has already paid a billion dollars in unemployment benefits and as Whitney Ray tells us, the unemployed are worried about the state’s ability to continue to pay claims.

Hear it Here: State Boosts Healthy Unemployment Fund

Clayton Watts was laid off from his construction job last month. He’s waiting on an unemployment check he says the state promised to send a week ago.

“They’re going to turn my electricity off. My rent is due. I’m out of gas. It’s hard to find any work. It’s tough,” said Clayton.

Clayton’s not alone. Florida’s unemployment rate is well above the national average. The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation has paid about a million unemployment claims since January. The agency’s director Monesia Brown said her office has been working overtime to keep up with the need.

“We’ve seen almost a 150 percent increase in claims this over last year at the same time. We’ve paid out over a billion dollars in benefits this year,” said Brown.

Despite the huge payout, Brown said the state’s unemployment insurance fund is still healthy with more 1.6 billion dollars available. The state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is financed though an unemployment tax on businesses.