WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The number of jobless in Florida is expected to soar in the coming weeks as financial analysts see the economy slipping into a COVID-19 recession.
RELATED: Residents filing for unemployment following job cuts
“That means, as a country, we’re producing less,” explains Keith Singer of Singer Wealth Management in Boca Raton.
“There’s really not a plan. We don’t know how long this will go on for. It’s not the government saying, 'We’re doing this and then it’s over,' We don’t know when it’s over, so that’s very scary,” Singer said.
“We are in a recession, and we just pray that it’s not that bad,” says Tom Veenstra at Career Source of Palm Beach County.
Veenstra said by end of this week his office was seeing about 160 people a day coming in to file for unemployment benefits. He also expects the numbers to rise in the next two weeks.
RELATED: Publix hiring 'thousands' of people for retail and distribution jobs
Despite the large losses of jobs in retail and hospitality, Veenstra says there are jobs available.
“We have 800 jobs in the database, but they're for things like drivers, warehouse help, delivery services, things like that as our economy is shifting,” Veenstra said.