Hurricanes and labor market disruptions: Insights from unemployment insurance claims

This paper examines the short-term impact of hurricanes on initial unemployment insurance claims (UIC) in Florida, the state most frequently affected by Atlantic hurricanes. Using newly assembled monthly county-level data from 2010–2023 and a wind field model to classify storm exposure, we estimate the causal effect of hurricanes on UIC through an event study design with fixed effects. We find that hurricanes significantly increase UIC, with effects varying sharply by storm intensity: on average, UIC rises by 24.9% after a hurricane, with minor hurricanes increasing claims by 22.4% and major hurricanes by 111.1%. The effects of minor storms dissipate within two months, while major storms persist for about four months. These results highlight the role of storm intensity and timing in shaping labor market disruptions, offering insights for disaster response and the design of unemployment insurance systems.