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State’s Rebuild VA program allocated $100M to Va. small businesses
The state has awarded $100 million in grants to 2,500 Virginia businesses and nonprofits through its Rebuild VA economic recovery fund, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. All available funds have now been fully committed, the governor said in a news release. Approximately $50 million went to women, minority and veteran-owned businesses, and 997 small businesses […]
Va. hotel revenue is still down by more than 50% from 2019
Despite the fast-approaching holiday season, Virginia hotel revenues continue to decline when compared with last year, according to data from STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. While COVID-19 cases spiked during the week of Nov. 29 through Dec. 5, hotel revenues in Virginia dropped by […]
Va. COVID-19 rate now exceeds 10%
Virginia’s coronavirus rates continue to rise, with 21,035 new cases and 146 deaths in the past week, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Dec. 7 update. As of Dec. 3, the state’s seven-day positivity rate was at 10.8%, a jump of more than 3% over the previous week. In parts of Southwest Virginia, positivity […]
Va. expects 480,000 COVID vaccine doses by end of December
Virginia expects to receive 480,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna by the end of December through the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed program, the Virginia Department of Health announced Friday, based on new information available. Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday that the state expected only 70,000 vaccine doses by the end of the […]
Richmond launches 2nd grant program for small businesses
The city of Richmond announced a second small business grant program Friday that will provide applicants with grants of $15,000 for COVID-19 pandemic relief. Richmond Recovers II will be funded with $2 million from the city’s CARES Act appropriation. Applications can be submitted online starting Monday, Dec. 7 and continuing through Dec. 16, according to […]
Va. jobless claims fall to lowest level since March
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week fell to its lowest level since the pandemic‘s employment effects began to be felt in mid-March, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Initial jobless claims in Virginia dropped by 29.7% last week compared with the previous filing week, according to the VEC, while continued claims fell […]
No new restrictions, but Northam urges COVID-19 caution
Gov. Ralph Northam warned Virginians about growing numbers of COVID-19 cases, especially in Southwest Virginia, which has seen higher rates for more than a month, in part because the region’s neighboring states also have seen spikes. At his Wednesday news conference, Northam stopped short of enforcing new restrictions, but encouraged people to follow physical distancing […]
Va. COVID-19 cases, deaths continue to rise
COVID-19 rates continued to climb last week in Virginia, with an increase of 16,797 cases since Nov. 23, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Nov. 30 dashboard update. The state also reported 120 virus-related deaths in the past week, raising the total number of fatalities over 4,000. As of Monday, the state has recorded […]
‘It’s not N95 or bust’
With the protective face mask market growing to meet the demand of both the general public and first responders, it’s a challenge for consumers to choose the most effective mask to purchase to stay safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Linsey Marr, the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, might […]
Labor market continued slow recovery in early November
The labor market continued its slow recovery during the week of Nov. 8, according to Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists. Early November saw 69.9% of working age adults employed, which is still far below the 73.8% employment rate from February right before the pandemic, according to the Real-Time Population Survey conducted by […]
Virginia sees significant uptick in COVID-19 cases, deaths
As the coronavirus spreads dramatically across the nation, Virginia recorded 16,401 new COVID-19 cases and 136 deaths last week, a significant increase in both statistics compared with recent weeks. The previous week brought 11,160 new cases and 93 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Due to increased testing, though, the seven-day positivity […]
Va. unemployment rate fell less than 1% between September and October
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by less than 1% between September and October to 5.3%, according to employment statistics released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission — but unemployment still remains 2.6% higher than the same time last year. The labor force fell by 0.4% to 4.27 million while the number of employed Virginians increased […]
