A record number of unemployment claims were filed in Florida last week, amid the coronavirus. Florida had 74,021 initial claims filed during the week ended March 21, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s 67,558 claims more from the prior week, which had 6,463 claims. Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3.28 million in the week ending March 21, an increase of 3.0 million from the previous week’s revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series, according to the report. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982.

 

Due to the widespread impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and small businesses’ need for emergency capital, the application process for the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program has changed. Effective immediately, eligible small businesses interested in applying for the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program, a short-term loan designed to help business owners bridge the gap between the time of impact and when the business has secured long-term assistance, should apply for the program through one of two ways: Apply online and upload required supporting documentation or download an application, complete it and mail it with the required supporting documentation to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) at Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, C/O Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan, 107 E. Madison Street, MSC-160, Tallahassee FL 32399-4120. Small businesses that have applied for the bridge loan program in response to COVID-19 should not submit an additional application. To complete a Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge loan application by the May 8 deadline, and for more information about the program, visit FloridaSBDC.org. 

 

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.S. Census Bureau has adjusted 2020 Census operations in order to protect the health and safety of Census Bureau employees and the American public; implement guidance from federal, state, and local health authorities; and ensure a complete and accurate count of all communities. On Friday, the Census Bureau extended the end of the self-response phase from July 31 to Aug. 14 and delayed nearly every operation for this year’s census. For instance, the day the Census Bureau counts people experiencing homelessness outdoors has been changed from April 1 to May 1. The Census Bureau still plans to deliver appointment counts to President Trump by Dec. 31 and will deliver redistricting counts to states by April 1, 2021. For more information go to 2020census.gov. 

 

The U.S. tax filing deadline has been moved from April 15 to July 15, according to a Twitter announcement from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who wrote he was acting at President Donald Trump’s direction. The White House previously announced a deferment of tax payments for 90 days with the original April 15 filing deadline. “All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties,” Mnuchin wrote.

 

Don’t wait until the end of the week to find out what’s happening in Southwest Florida. Sign up for our free daily newsletter, Gulfshore Business Daily, to stay connected.