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Va. sees second week of slightly lower initial jobless claims
May 20, 2021

Va. sees second week of slightly lower initial jobless claims

Virginia saw another week of little change in initial unemployment claims, with 10,642 new claims filed during the week ending May 15, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. This was a decrease of 628 claimants from the previous week. Continued claims last week rose by 2,569 from the previous week, reaching 60,413 total claims. This […]

Va. sees 67% drop in weekly jobless claims
May 6, 2021

Va. sees 67% drop in weekly jobless claims

The state’s number of initial unemployment claims continues to fluctuate wildly, with only 12,231 Virginians submitting new jobless claims for the week ending May 1, a drop of 25,125 claims from the previous week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. For the April 26-May 1 filing week, the state saw a 67.2% decline in new […]

Va. new jobless claims up 171%
Apr 29, 2021

Va. new jobless claims up 171%

For the April 19-24 filing week, 37,356 Virginians submitted initial unemployment claims, a 171.6% increase from the previous week, but a 48.4% decrease from this time a year ago, when jobless claims were near a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Virginia Employment Commission reports that last week’s number of initial claims has reverted to […]

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam delivered an April 22, 2021, video message to loosen more COVID restrictions.
Apr 22, 2021

Northam: State to loosen more restrictions May 15

Beginning May 15, the state will loosen more restrictions, including allowing larger social gatherings and expanded audiences for entertainment venues and sporting events, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a video message released Thursday. Restaurants will also be allowed to resume serving alcohol after midnight. Northam’s amendments to his pandemic executive orders, which take effe[...]

Va. jobless claims up 173% from last week
Apr 22, 2021

Va. jobless claims up 173% from last week

For the April 13-17 filing week, 13,751 Virginians submitted initial unemployment claims, a 173% increase from the previous week, but an 83% decrease from this time a year ago when jobless claims were near a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week’s new claims rose by 8,717 compared to those from the week ending April 10, […]

Apr 20, 2021

Va. hotel revenues up 12% in March

Virginia hotel revenues for March 2021 increased by 12% compared with March 2020, according to data released Tuesday by STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. During the same period, rooms sold went up by 25%. The average daily rate (ADR) paid for hotel rooms dropped 10% […]

Apr 16, 2021

Va. unemployment stayed steady in March

Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained above 5% in March, dropping just 0.1 percentage points below February’s jobless rate. March’s 5.1% unemployment rate was 2.5 percentage points above March 2020’s rate. Virginia contends to trend lower than the nation, however. The U.S. unemployment rate for March was 6%. “Virginia’s unemployment rate is stead[...]

Va. new unemployment claims fall 466% from previous week
Apr 15, 2021

Va. new unemployment claims fall 466% from previous week

About 5,000 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 10, a 95% decrease from this time a year ago when jobless claims were near their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week’s 5,034 new claims were 466% lower than the previous week’s, when 28,526 people filed, according to the Virginia Employment Commission’s […]

Apr 14, 2021

Fed says Fifth District economy shows moderate growth

The economy has grown “moderately” in recent weeks, with strong production increases, employment rising and consumer spending up in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District, which includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland, according to the latest edition of the Fed’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. The Beige Book, which is published eight times [&hel[...]

Va. new unemployment filings up last week, VEC reports
Apr 1, 2021

Va. new unemployment filings up last week, VEC reports

The number of initial unemployment claims filed during the week ending March 27 were 75% lower than they were this week a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic‘s impact was fully reflected in Virginia‘s unemployment statistics. However, the number of new filers increased from the previous week. The Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday that 28,244 […]

Bernie Niemeier. Photo by Caroline Martin
Mar 30, 2021

Better times ahead

Back in the early 1980s, a co-worker of mine and his wife became first-time homeowners. They felt pretty good about getting their new house and signing a mortgage note at a whopping 18% interest rate! By today’s standards, that’s pretty unthinkable. While much time has passed since those days, we’ve had only six new presidents […]

Christie Wall opened Grizzly’s Hatchet House and River City Escapes in downtown Danville’s River District in August 2019. Photo by Mark Rhodes
Mar 30, 2021

A bend in the river

An out-of-town trip to visit colleges with her daughter gave Christie Wall an idea that several years later she hopes will benefit her and her hometown. For fun, Wall and her daughter tried out an escape room — an interactive adventure game that requires participants to solve a themed puzzle or challenge in order to […]

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