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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.