Florida’s seasonably adjusted unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in February, up from 8.8 percent in January, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

That’s 1.3 percent higher than the national rate and 4.2 percent higher than a year ago.

About 500,000 Floridians currently receive unemployment benefits.

St. Lucie County’s unemployment rate climbed to 12.7 percent, nearly double from the previous year.

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GOP state lawmakers are at odds over whether to accept $444 million in federal stimulus funds that would expand the number of unemployed workers eligible for unemployment benefits.

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Gov. Charlie Crist earlier today urged lawmakers to consider expanding the types of workers eligible for unemployment compensation so the state can draw down $444 million in federal stimulus aid to pay for the benefits.

He said that House Republican concerns that taking the money would hike businesses’ taxes long after the stimulus money dries up could be resolved by passing a bill that agrees to undo the expanded benefits after a certain length of time.

But within hours, staff at the Agency for Workforce Innovation, which handles unemployment claims, released requested information cautioning against taking the money.

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Gov. Charlie Crist encouraged House Republicans to take $444 million in federal stimulus money that would give 40,000 more jobless workers unemployment benefits.

House Majority Leader Adam Hasner is balking at taking the money because he believes that it would cause businesses’ unemployment taxes to go up after the stimulus money dries up.

But a national employment group found that businesses’ taxes would go up anyway and taking the money would actually be a saving for them in the long run.

Crist said he’s sympathetic to the House’s worries about the impact on businesses.

But, he went on: “They’re lawmakers though. Maybe they could come up with a law that would say we’ll take the stimulus…for x amount of years and not have to continue and then keep the rates down.”

Jobless Floridians will start getting an extra $25 per week in their unemployment checks, Gov. Charlie Crist announced today.

“We are at a high-water mark, if you will, as it relates to unemployment in the state – about a 16-year high,” Crist told reporters today. “It’s important to extend unemployment benefits as much as we possibly can to help people get through this tough time.”

The extra dough is part of a $345 million to unemployment benefits included in the federal stimulus package. The weekly boost will continue through next July for claims filed before December of this year.

The increase went into effect Feb. 22, and those receiving unemployment benefits at that time or later will also receive a retroactive payment without having to apply for it.

The latest grim news about the state’s emaciated economy is making it harder to get the federal stimulus money aimed at boosting Florida’s finances on the streets.

State transportation officials are taking longer to get their list of $1.3 billion worth of road projects to lawmakers to sign off on so the projects can get moving because economists predicted Friday that revenues would drop by another $3.4 billion by the end of next year.

That means a (coincidentally) $1.3 billion cut to the state’s five-year road plan. Transportation officials are now trying to figure out what that impact would be on the stimulus-backed projects.

Lawmakers had hoped to pass a budget bill to spend the federal money as early as this week, but chances of that happening now are unlikely.

If unemployment above 14 percent in some regions and a one out of 10 Floridians on food stamps isn’t bad enough, now unscrupulous spammers have launched stimulus scams on unsuspecting web surfers.

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson issued an alert today warning Floridians about Internet ploys involving federal stimulus money.

One of the scams sent by e-mail promises grant dollars and asks consumers to provide their bank account number and other personal information that could result in identity theft, Bronson cautioned.

Another swindle asks consumers to pay an up-front fee for a grant or list of available grants.

“It’s clear that criminals are preying on the public’s desperation and using the stimulus plan to con people out of their hard-earned money,” Bronson said in a press release. “They should just delete these emails as quickly as possible and understand that the federal government is not providing stimulus money over the Internet.”

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A recommendation from the Florida Public Service Commission for state lawmakers to mandate that 20 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2020 could generate 85,000 jobs in the state, according to The Vote Solar Initiative.

And the San Francisco-based group is taking out these classified ads in newspapers across the state, including The Palm Beach Post, for interested electricians and engineers to apply to the legislature for these jobs, Post writer Susan Salisbury reports today.

Gwen Rose, deputy director of The Vote Solar Initiative, said the jobs estimate comes from a study by Navigant Consulting that showed more than 3,800 megawatts of solar power could be generated if the state goes to the 20 percent standard. According to Navigant, with each megawatt yielding 15 to 30 direct jobs, that translates into 57,000 to 114,000 direct jobs — 85,500 is the mid-range.

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Already frustrated jobless Floridians have more angst in store when trying to deal with the agency responsible for unemployment.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation can’t answer the phones and isn’t handing over the extra $25 a week to those receiving unemployment benefits. Agency officials said yesterday the weekly payments should begin by the end of March.

The 10,000 telephone calls coming into the agency have so overwhelmed the 1,012 phone lines that help-seekers end up getting nothing but busy signals. Lawmakers okayed an emergency $6.3 million to set up a private call center to handle about 5,000 calls a day that go unanswered.

But jobless folks shouldn’t start dialing yet.

The call center won’t be operational until July 1, agency officials said.

The $1.3 billion in federal stimulus money approved for Florida to build new roads is purported to create or save 30,000 jobs. The federally-funded transportation projects are expected to be the first out of the stimulus to actually put unemployed workers back on the job.

But the 800,000 out-of-work Floridians banking on getting one of those construction or engineering jobs may be sitting on the sidelines until late summer or fall at the earliest before they start cashing in stimulus-related paychecks.

State officials are anxious to get shovels in the dirt and machines moving, but government bureaucracy may slow down the process.

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Florida’s January unemployment rate is 8.6 percent, 1 percent higher than previously thought and the highest in 17 years.

More than 355,000 Floridians lost their jobs in January, bringing the state’s total non-farm-related unemployed to nearly 800,00. The number of Floridians still bringing home a paycheck is about 7.6 million.

More than 19 counties have unemployment rates in the double digits, including St. Lucie (12%) and Okeechobee (10.7%). Flagler County has the highest unemployment with 14.2 percent. Palm Beach County’s unemployment rate is 9.1%, up 4% from last year.

On Tuesday Gov. Charlie Crist insisted Florida can deal with a $2 billion spending gap without raising taxes.

Just two days later, he said he may be willing to do just that so the state can use federal stimulus money for unemployment payments.

Crist wants to get the $444 million to allow more Floridians to become eligible for unemployment benefits.

But that could cost businesses about $230 million in unemployment taxes and the state $51 million to meet requirements in the stimulus package.

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Gov. Charlie Crist said today he will head to Miami, Daytona Beach and Tampa on Friday to promote a series of state web sites that are supposed to help Floridians find work, buy cheap prescription drugs and get health coverage.

“I know that people are hurting,” Crist said. “People can’t sign up for it if they don’t know it exists.”

Other tidbits from the press conference:

*The state’s 26,000 employees receive free health insurance, a perk that Crist said he wasn’t inclined to change.

*Crist shrugged off a suggestion that he oversold an unrealistic budget proposal to a legislature.

*And said he hoped that a possible tax on businesses would not prevent the state from accepting $444 million in unemployment benefits from President Obama’s stimulus package.