Friday's Afternoon Update | 5/21/2021 Florida’s labor force nears pre-pandemic levels as COVID fears fade The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday that the state’s overall labor force climbed by 85,000 between March and April. It’s the fourth-straight month the figure has increased — and at 10,357,000 workers, Florida’s labor force has nearly returned to the level last seen in August 2019. The state’s workforce high-water mark came in October 2019 when it hit 10,463,000. More from the Miami Herald. Florida lawmakers approved legalized sports betting. Now what? State lawmakers spent just three days debating and voting on a number of bills to reshape Florida’s gambling landscape, and observers and advocates are still processing. By far the biggest change is the expansion of sports betting in Florida — now the largest state in the nation to offer sports betting. Here’s what we know — and some of what we don’t — about what sports betting will look like in the Sunshine State: More from the Tampa Bay Times.