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Va. unemployment rate drops to 4% in August
In August, the state’s unemployment rate was at 4%, a 0.2-point decline below July’s rate, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The state’s unemployment rate has declined for 15 months straight, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, the state’s jobless rate was at 7%, 3 points higher than last month. Virginia continued to […]
Va. rolls out digital proof for vaccinations
The Virginia Department of Health has started adding scannable QR codes to COVID-19 vaccination records, digitizing the proof-of-vaccination process, the state announced Thursday. VDH said QR codes available now cannot be altered or forged, and health information is available from the codes only if and when a person chooses to share it. Businesses or organizations […]
The Great American Labor Shortage
At Dough Boy’s Pizza, summer typically brings a steady stream of job applicants seeking work at one of the restaurant’s three locations on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. But “this year, it’s next to nothing,” says owner George Kotarides. For Kotarides and other restaurant owners, a season that had been anticipated as the triumphant closing act […]
More Va. health systems announce vaccine mandates
Major hospital systems in Hampton Roads and Central Virginia announced Wednesday that they will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Riverside Health System and Sentara Healthcare jointly announced the requirement and began notifying employees Wednesday morning that they m[...]
Va. is ready to deploy COVID vaccine booster doses
As COVID cases are on the rise again, driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus, the Virginia Department of Health has begun administering third COVID-19 vaccine doses to immunocompromised people and is ready to expand third-dose booster vaccinations to more Virginia residents on Sept. 20, the target date set by the federal government, state […]
VDH officials expect more workplaces to mandate vaccines
More workplaces will likely require employees to be vaccinated once the Food and Drug Administration provides full licensure of the Pfizer vaccine, expected in September, Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, said Tuesday at a Virginia Department of Health media briefing. “COVID is not going to go away after this delta variant,” Avula said, […]
Northam will require state employees to get vaccinated
State employees will be required to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 1 or be tested weekly, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday, as the delta variant has led to rising cases. “Today, I’m taking an important step to protect employees,” Northam said at a news conference, adding that the measure is also […]
Richmond mandates vaccinations for city employees
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced Wednesday that all city employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming the first Virginia locality to mandate vaccination. Fairfax County has taken steps in recent weeks toward a vaccination mandate for its 12,000 employees, but the county executive must make the final decision. Gov. Ralph Northam has […]
Northam proposes $353M for small biz, tourism relief
Ahead of the General Assembly’s August special session, Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he wants to spend $353 million of Virginia’s federal relief funding on small business recovery and assisting the tourism industry. Virginia received $4.3 billion in federal funds through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly will […]
Va. unemployment claims down slightly last week
Virginia saw a small decrease in initial claims for the filing week ending July 3, with 6,825 people making new jobless claims, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Continued claims also went down, totaling 37,790 last week, down by 2,435 from the previous week. Initial claims declined by 1,371 last week compared to the previous […]
Va. new jobless claims up, while continued claims decline
Virginia’s new unemployment claims rose to 8,196 in the filing week ending June 26, but continued claims decreased, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Last week saw an increase of 1,291 initial jobless claims from the previous week, while continued claims totaled 40,225, a decrease of 2,653 claims from a week ago. This time a year […]
Va. new jobless claims dropped below 7,000 last week
Virginia’s new unemployment claims fell last week, as did continued claims, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. For the filing week ending June 19, 6,905 people filed initial jobless claims, a decrease of 944 from the previous week. Continued unemployment claims totaled 42,878 last week, down 1,915 claims from the previous week. This time a […]
