NOVA, Manassas, Prince William, local groups launch workforce program
Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) announced Monday it is partnering with the city of Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia Career Works and the SkillsSource Group to launch the $1.9 million ELEVATE Program to provide free education and workforce services. Funded by federal CARES Act funding, the program will also help businesses to upskill their workforces. […]
State General Fund revenue down only 0.2% in August
Despite the pandemic, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that August General Fund revenue collections decreased only 0.2% compared to the same time last year. “Despite trying economic conditions, collections from payroll withholding and sales taxes remained steady,” Northam said in a statement. “We look forward to September’s receipts, which will provide more insight into Virginia’s [[...]
Northam eases COVID-19 restrictions in Hampton Roads
After more than six weeks, Gov. Ralph Northam eased COVID-19 restrictions in Hampton Roads localities Thursday, citing “significantly improved” health metrics. The region will join the rest of the state in Phase Three of the “Forward Virginia” plan, effective immediately. On July 31, the governor placed a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people, […]
Don’t expect hotel revenue improvement to continue, industry says
UPDATED SEPT. 11, 2 P.M. Virginia hotel revenues saw some improvement last week, according to data released Thursday, but hotel industry representatives say it’s nowhere near enough to offset the “economically devastating” losses that the lodging sector has suffered this year due to the pandemic. For the week of Aug. 30 through Sept. 5, hotel […]
Va. saw slight increase in jobless claims last week
Virginia saw a slight increase in the number of initial jobless claims last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday — bringing the total number of initial claims filed since mid-March to 1.136 million, or nearly 28% of the commonwealth’s pre-pandemic payroll employment. For the week ending Sept. 5, 11,135 Virginians filed initial claims for […]
Loudoun County allocates additional $4.3M to small business grants
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has approved an additional $4.3 million in federal CARES Act funding to go to its COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund, which supports eligible small businesses impacted by the coronavirus with $5,000 grants. During the first three rounds of funding, Loudoun County disbursed $7.1 million to more than 1,000 businesses. “Even […]
Va. jobless claims during pandemic exceed Great Recession
While Virginia saw a slight decrease in the number of initial jobless claims last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday that the total number of initial claims filed since the beginning of the pandemic is greater than the combined totals filed during the 2007-09 Great Recession and the economic recession in 2001. For the […]
Va. hotel revenues continued to improve last week
Virginia hotel revenues continued to improve last week, according to data released Wednesday by STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. For the week of Aug. 23 through Aug. 29, hotel revenues decreased by 38% and rooms sold declined by 27% compared to the same week […]
Fed says Fifth District economy continues to improve, but activity remains low
The economy of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve (which includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) has continued to improve in recent weeks, but activity has remained below pre-pandemic levels in most industries, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. The Beige Book is published […]
Va. reports 8% unemployment rate for July
Despite the ongoing pandemic, Virginia’s unemployment rate was 2.5% lower than the national average for the month of July, according to statistics released by the Virginia Employment Commission on Wednesday. For the month of July, the U.S. reported a 10.5% unemployment rate while Virginia reported an 8% unemployment rate, a 0.2% improvement from the month […]
Va. saw slight decrease in initial jobless claims last week
More than 11,000 Virginians filed initial jobless claims last week — a decrease of nearly 4,000 claims from the previous week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. The number of initial claims filed during the Aug. 22 filing week fell to near the average weekly volume in 2009, according to the VEC. However, 249,745 people […]
Va. saw slight uptick in initial jobless claims last week
More than 15,000 Virginians filed initial jobless claims last week — an increase of more than 1,800 claims from the previous week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. “The increase in initial claims for unemployment benefits in Virginia reverses the trend of declining claims over the last two weeks,” Dominique Johnson, research associate with Old […]