WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Floridians are still struggling with the state's unemployment system will now have to cope with an end to the federal $300 a week benefit.
"It does worry me a bit," Jack Guimond, of Lake Worth Beach, said.
The end of the federal benefits comes as some state officials worry that extended benefits may be why there are worker shortages in some business sectors.
But Guimond, a handyman by trade, said finding work hasn't been easy.
"It's been hard because everybody is looking, so it's really competitive," he said.
Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO, said the loss of unemployment payments "will devastate people who are still getting the $300 in benefits."
"They're not getting rich," he said. "They're getting food."
Templin said ending the federal benefit is estimated to affect about 120,000 people, as well as end a $700 impact on Florida's economy.
"It's unfair to Florida taxpayers that our money is going to other states instead of back here to Florida," he said.
Currently, the federal benefits are set to end in Florida the week of June 27.