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Tag: unemployment claims

Va. AG hiring staff to target unemployment fraud

Virginia’s attorney general on Thursday announced he has signed an agreement with the Virginia Employment Commission to hire more staff dedicated to investigating and prosecuting fraudulent unemployment claims, a problem that has cost the state more than $100 million since 2020, a report estimates.

According to Attorney General Jason Miyares’ spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, his office is hiring staffers to work with localities under the agreement, including attorneys and investigators who will be in a dedicated unit of the attorney general’s office. “We plan to work with state, local and federal officials to prosecute fraud,” she said. “Many of our prosecutors in the major crimes and emerging threats section are cross-designated as special assistant United States attorneys.” The precise number of new hires is still to be determined, LaCivita said.

VEC, which was hit with an avalanche of unemployment requests beginning in March 2020, has struggled to keep up with backlogs of unemployment claims, which led to a lawsuit by several Virginia residents who didn’t receive insurance, as well as state legislature scrutiny. Chronic understaffing, blamed for the backlog, also resulted in about $70 million in fraudulent payments in 2020 and $29 million in the first quarter of 2021, according to a report released by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) in November 2021.

JLARC estimated that fraudulent claims in Virginia grew a whopping 440% — from 1.4% of all claims in 2019 to 7.5% in 2020. Another problem was that VEC did not begin using best practices in fraud detection and prevention until 2021, and the majority of JLARC’s numbers in the report were estimates because at least 164,456 potentially fraudulent claims had not been investigated as of October 2021.

Aside from understaffing, the VEC’s modernization of its unemployment claims process has lagged behind schedule, forcing staffers to manually process claims, which JLARC’s report says increases the risk of inaccurate or fraudulent benefit payments. VEC may have incorrectly paid out an estimated $930 million in 2020 and $322 million between January and June 2021, the report says. Most of that was due to overpayments caused mistakenly by claimants, employers or VEC staff, or because of fraud. In several instances last year, VEC shut down its online claims systems, including once in December, specifically to “limit fraud,” requiring claimants to call its hotlines to file.

In February, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that as of Jan. 15, the backlog of employment separation reports — documents that are required for claimants to receive unemployment funds — had been reduced by nearly 89% from 246,273 to 27,728, and unpaid pending claims were reduced from 24,887 to 15,846.

“There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to refocus on our customers, the individuals and employers, and get them the resources they need,” VEC Commissioner Carrie Roth said in Thursday’s announcement. “Working with the attorney general’s office, we are increasing our efforts to go after those who are committing fraud and taking from Virginians the benefits they are entitled to receive. This fraudulent activity is frustrating to many Virginians who are already in tough situations, and we are bringing the additional support of the attorney general’s office to hold those committing this crime accountable.”

Youngkin said in his own statement, “When someone commits fraud against the state, they are stealing from all Virginians. When that fraud impacts our unemployment insurance program, it is especially hurting people in need. I am proud of Attorney General Miyares who will take on this important role of fighting fraud and abuse on behalf of all Virginians.”

To report suspected unemployment insurance fraud, visit the VEC’s website.

VEC reduces backlog by 89%

The Virginia Employment Commission has decreased its backlog by nearly 89%, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.

The VEC reduced the backlog of employment separation reports from 246,273 to 27,728 and unpaid pending claims from 24,887 to 15,846 claims.

“Virginians deserve an unemployment insurance system that is responsive, efficient and customer focused,” Youngkin said in a statement. “On day one, my administration launched the VEC transformation effort with an initial focus on reducing claims backlogs and we are starting to see encouraging initial results.”

The VEC has been under scrutiny for backlogs of claims during the pandemic.

The agency met its Labor Day 2021 deadline on a court order to address a backlog of earlier claims, but other disputed claims built up in that period. The agency had paused its collection of overpayments to unemployed claimants as it sorted through the backlogs of disputed claims and appeals, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported in September 2021.

In November 2021, a report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission showed that the agency had made progress in its backlog, down to 437,000 outstanding claims. The report also showed, though that the VEC needed to recoup more than $1.2 billion that was incorrectly paid out, WWBT reported.

In early January, the agency reached an agreement with five legal advocacy groups to end a federal lawsuit the groups had filed against the state, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

On Jan. 19, the governor’s office removed Ellen Marie Hess from her position as VEC commissioner and two days later, the governor’s office announced he had appointed Carrie Roth as VEC commissioner.

The agency also delayed the launch of its updated system last year, from Oct. 1, 2021, to November 2021.

New Va. jobless claims inch up

Virginia’s new unemployment claims rose just slightly for the week ending Jan. 29, the Virginia Unemployment Commission reported Thursday.

Virginians filed 2,157 claims for the last week of January, an increase of 217 initial claims from the previous week. Continued claims totaled 7,439, a decrease of 104 claims from the previous week and 89% lower than the 67,337 continued claims from the comparable week in 2021.

People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The majority of claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: administrative and waste services, construction, retail trade, health care and social assistance, and professional and technical services.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 238,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The advance number of actual initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 257,002 in the week ending Jan. 29, a decrease of 11,728 from the previous week.

New Va. unemployment claims down 32%

Virginia’s new unemployment claims declined by almost 32%, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending Jan. 22, Virginians filed 1,940 initial claims, down 909 from the previous week. Continued claims totaled 7,543, an increase of 484 claims from the week before.

Compared to the same week last year, initial claims were 89% lower than the 18,312 recorded then. Continued claims were 89% lower than the 67,298 from the comparable week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The majority of claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: construction; administrative and waste services; accommodation and food service; and retail.

The VEC has drawn attention and legal action for backlogs of claims during the pandemic. On Jan. 19,  Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office removed Ellen Marie Hess from her position as VEC commissioner, WVEC’s 13News Now reported. On Jan. 21, Youngkin announced that he named Carrie Roth as the VEC commissioner. Roth was the deputy secretary of commerce and trade under former Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims was 260,000, a decrease of 30,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The advance number of actual initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 267,573.

Va. new unemployment claims up 16%

New unemployment claims in Virginia increased 16% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending Jan. 15, Virginians filed 2,849 initial claims, an increase of 406 from the week before. Continued claims totaled 7,059, down 1,131 from the previous week.

Compared to the same week last year, initials claims were 86% lower than the 21,073 recorded then. Continued claims were almost 89% lower than the 63,839 from the comparable week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The majority of claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: construction; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistances.

The VEC has been under scrutiny for backlogs of claims during the pandemic, and the agency recently reached an agreement with five legal advocacy groups to end a federal lawsuit the groups had filed against the state. On Wednesday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office removed Ellen Marie Hess from her position as VEC commissioner, WVEC’s 13News Now reported.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 286,000, an increase of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level.  There were 937,313 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 337,417.

Va. new unemployment claims up 35%

Virginia’s new unemployment claims increased by 34.9% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending Jan. 8, Virginians filed 2,446 initial claims, an increase of 633 from the week before. Continued claims totaled 7,895, down 3,367 from the previous week.

Compared to last year, increased claims were almost 92% lower than the 28,227 recorded then. Continued claims were 88% lower than the 63,687 from the comparable week last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The majority of claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: construction; administrative and waste services; accommodation and food services; and health care and social assistance.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level. There were 1.08 million initial claims in the comparable week in 2021. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 419,446.

Va. new unemployment claims up 51%

Virginia’s new unemployment claims increased by almost 51% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending Jan. 1, Virginians filed 1,813 new claims, an increase of 609 from the previous week. Continued claims totaled 11,262, an increase of 6,358 claims from the week before.

Compared to last year, initial claims were almost 91% lower than the 19,530 recorded then. Continued claims were 82% lower than the 63,588 reported in the same week last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The majority of claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: construction; manufacturing; accommodation and food services; and administrative and waste services.

The VEC has been under scrutiny for backlogs of claims during the pandemic. On Wednesday, five legal advocacy groups reached an agreement with the VEC to end a federal lawsuit they had filed against the state for failing to promptly settle claims and pay benefits, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 207,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level. There were 898,610 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 315,469 for the week.

Va. new unemployment claims drop 47%

Virginia’s new unemployment claims dropped by 47% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday, following a drop of 50% in the week ending Nov. 27.

For the filing week ending Dec. 4, Virginians filed 3,450 initial claims, a decrease of 3,096 from the week before. Continued claims totaled 14,598, an increase of 681 from the previous week.

Compared to the same week last year, initial claims were 79% lower than the 16,654 recorded then. Continued claims were 80% lower than the 73,804 reported in the comparable week last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The majority of claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: health care and social assistance; professional and business services; administrative and waste services; retail; and manufacturing.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 184,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since September 6, 1969, when it was 182,000. Although the labor market has been improving, the seasonal adjustment for unemployment claims data does affect the data — without it, unemployment claims last week were 281,000, CNBC reported. There were 946,661 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020.

New Va. unemployment claims fall by 50%

The state’s new unemployment claims for the filing week ending Nov. 27 fell by about 50% from the previous week, while continued claims rose by more than 7,000 filings.

The Virginia Employment Commission installed a new unemployment insurance system in November, and it missed two weeks of reports during that period.

According to the VEC’s announcement Thursday, 6,546 initial claims were filed last week, a decrease of 6,548 claimants from the previous week. Continued claims totaled 13,917, an increase of 6,605 claims from the previous week and 81% lower than 72,305 claims from the comparable week in 2020. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The decrease in new claims by Virginians reflects U.S. employment numbers. In November, the unemployment rate hit a 21-month low of 4.2%, a 0.4% drop since October, and 594,000 people in the U.S. entered the labor force last month, the most in 13 months.

The majority of Virginia claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: accommodation/food services; administrative and waste services; retail; manufacturing; and health care and social assistance.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 222,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised level. There were 711,416 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Virginia had 328,000 job openings in September, breaking a record set in July, when there were 320,000 openings.

Va. unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% in October

In October, Virginia’s unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, 0.2 points below September’s rate, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The state’s unemployment rate has declined for 17 months straight.

In October 2020, the jobless rate was at 5.3%, 2.5 points higher than last month.

The labor force increased by 5,918 to almost 4.26 million, and the number of unemployed residents decreased by 7,566 from September, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Friday. The state recorded over-the-year job gains of 2%. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to be below the national rate, which was 4.6% last month.

“Virginia’s economy is making great strides, with the lowest unemployment rate since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” Northam said in a statement. “The positive trend is the result of careful fiscal management and our extensive work to make Virginia a welcoming and open place. This approach has served Virginia well and continuing it will deliver further economic gains for the commonwealth.”

The number of employed Virginians increased by 13,484 to 4.1 million in October. The private sector saw an increase of 13,500 jobs to 3.2 million total, while public sector jobs increased by 5,900 to 719,800 total, according to VEC.

Employment rose in eight of 11 major industry sectors, declined in one and was unchanged in two, construction and finance. The largest job gain during October occurred in leisure and hospitality, with an increase of 7,200 jobs to total 357,800. The second largest increase was in government, which gained 5,900 jobs for a total of 719,800. The other industries with increases were trade and transportation, professional and business services, education and health services, information, mining and miscellaneous services.

Manufacturing was the only sector to see job loss, losing 3,500 jobs, which dropped the total to 235,300.

The VEC reported that nine of Virginia’s 10 metropolitan areas saw nonfarm job gains during October, with Northern Virginia gaining 6,500 jobs and the Virginia-Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area taking second with 2,400 jobs. Roanoke did not see a change in nonfarm jobs.

Virginia has seen a decrease in initial unemployment claims in the last few weeks, with claims hovering around 1,000 to 2,000. In the most recent filing week that the VEC has reported, the department recorded 1,290 new claims.