DeSantis says unemployed Floridians have received $2B. Some states have done far more

Amid questioning about Florida’s broken unemployment system, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday touted a big figure for the amount in state and federal benefits that have gone out.

“We have $2 billion in claims that have been paid,” he said.

Taken alone, that’s a lot of dough. But many states, which are also grappling with historic numbers of unemployed, have paid out a lot more.

Comparing Florida to other states isn’t simple. DeSantis’ $2 billion figure includes both federal CARES Act benefits ($1.2 billion) and state unemployment benefits ($840 million).

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