The economic recovery in Florida looks to be developing slower than had previously been expected.

The last seven weeks have seen 17 companies file mass layoffs, resulting in 2,867 displaced employees. Compared to the same time period last year, these numbers are roughly twice the volume.

David Denslow of the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research commented, “I’m not looking for it to get a lot better in terms of layoffs. I think it’s going to be hard, and I had been one of the most optimistic about unemployment. I turned out to be wrong on that.”