Nearly 400,000 Virginians are still unemployed following the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, though the number of initial jobless claims in the commonwealth continues to decrease.
However, 398,411 people remain unemployed in Virginia — 379,958 higher than the 18,453 continued claims from the same week last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
“The continued claims total is mainly comprised of those recent initial claimants who continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic,” VEC Economist Timothy Aylor said in a statement. “Continued claims during the May 30 filing week equaled 50% of all initial claims filed during the pandemic to this point. This percentage has trended downward in recent weeks.”
More than 1.8 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, bringing the total of unemployed Americans to nearly 43 million in the wake of the economic crisis.
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 249,000. In the week ending May 16, 35 states reported that 10.7 million people are claiming federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides temporary benefits for people who are not eligible for regular or traditional unemployment insurance.
In Virginia, 190,915 filed the Pandemic Unemployment claims, according to the VEC, 8,685 of which were initial claims.
The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. In Hampton Roads alone, 6,590 people filed initial claims.
“We are starting to see the bottom of the first wave of layoffs in Hampton Roads,” Robert McNab, director of Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, said in a statement. “While initial unemployment claims remain historically high, continued claims have fallen two weeks in a row. As Hampton Roads moves into Phase II of reopening, we can expect this trend to continue in the coming weeks. A sustained recovery will take time, especially in the travel and tourism, restaurant and retail trade sectors.”
Data from the Dragas Center also indicates that Hampton Roads’ unemployment rate for the month of April — at 12.1% — was the highest unemployment rate of all major metropolitan areas in the state.
“The region’s dependence on tourism will mean a greater initial economic impact and, most likely, a longer recovery relative to other regions in the commonwealth,” Dominique Johnson, a Dragas Center research associate, said in a statement. “We continue to project that the unemployment rate in the region is likely to approach 18% in May.”
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 30:
Fairfax County, 3,314
Prince William County, 1,721
Richmond, 1,413
Virginia Beach, 1,361
Norfolk, 1,134
Loudoun County, 1,058
Henrico County, 1,056
Chesterfield County, 1,020
Newport News, 948
Chesapeake, 774
This is the first week since the pandemic began that some of the top 10 localities dipped under 1,000 initial unemployment claims.
Twenty-eight states reported 209,692 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular or traditional unemployment insurance benefits to those who have exhausted their eligibility.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 14.8% for the week that ended May 23, a 0.5% increase from the previous week.
The states with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending on May 16 were Nevada, Maine, Michigan, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Louisiana and New Hampshire.
States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on May 23 were Maine, Oklahoma, Michigan, Kentucky and Oregon, while the largest decreases were in Washington, Florida, California, New York and Illinois.
This story will be updated to reflect Virginia statistics, when available.
More than 402,000 Virginians are still unemployed following the economic devastation from the COVID-19 pandemic, though the number of initial jobless claims in the commonwealth continues to decrease.
Nevertheless, a total of 402,926 Virginians filed for unemployment benefits last week — down 631 from the previous week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
“The continued claims total is mainly comprised of those recent initial claimants who continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic,” VEC Economist Timothy Aylor said in a statement. “Continued claims during the May 23 filing week equaled 53% of all initial claims filed during the pandemic to this point. This percentage has trended downward in recent weeks.
More than 2.1 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, bringing the total of unemployed Americans to more than 41.1 million in the wake of the economic crisis.
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 323,000. In the week ending May 9, 33 states reported that 7.79 million people are claiming federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides temporary benefits for people who are not eligible for regular or traditional unemployment insurance.
In Virginia, 193,684 filed the Pandemic Unemployment claims, according to the VEC, 12,705 of which were initial claims.
The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 23:
Fairfax County, 4,392
Prince William County, 2,268
Virginia Beach, 1,756
Richmond, 1,685
Loudoun County, 1,456
Norfolk, 1,391
Henrico County, 1,346
Chesterfield County, 1,333
Newport News, 1,102
Chesapeake, 1,026
Twenty-two states reported 222,300 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular or traditional unemployment insurance benefits to those who have exhausted their eligibility.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 14.5% for the week that ended May 16, a 2.6% decrease from the previous week.
The states with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending on May 9 were Washington, Nevada, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, California, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut and Georgia.
States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on May 16 were California, Washington, New York, Florida and Michigan, while the largest decreases were in Georgia, New Jersey, Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.
More than 403,500 Virginians are still unemployed following the economic devastation from the COVID-19 pandemic, though the number of initial jobless claims in the commonwealth continues to decrease.
Nevertheless, a total of 403,557 Virginians filed for unemployment benefits last week — a 2.8% increase from the previous week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
“Thus far, continued claims during the May 16 filing equaled 56% of all initial claims filed during the pandemic,” VEC Economist Timothy Aylor said in a statement. “This percentage was a significant drop-off from the previous week.”
More than 2.4 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, bringing the total of unemployed Americans to nearly 39 million in the wake of the economic crisis.
During the May 16 filing week, the hospitality and food service sectors continued to see the greatest percentage of initial claims for unemployment in Virginia. Many continued claims also came from retail workers, health care and social workers.
“This reflects impacts of public health and safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Aylor said in a statement.
The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 16:
Fairfax County, 5,344
Prince William County, 2,601
Virginia Beach, 2,166
Richmond, 1,773
Loudoun County, 1,729
Henrico County, 1,542
Norfolk, 1,524
Chesterfield County, 1,520
Newport News, 1,252
Chesapeake, 1,176
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 249,000. In the week ending May 2, 27 states reported that 6.1 million people are claiming federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides temporary benefits for people who are not eligible for regular or traditional unemployment insurance.
Fifteen states reported 162,727 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular or traditional unemployment insurance benefits to those who have exhausted their eligibility.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 17.2% for the week that ended May 9, a 1.7% increase from the previous week.
The states with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending on May 2 were Nevada, Michigan, Washington, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Puerto Rico, Mississippi, Vermont and Georgia.
States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on May 9 were Florida, Georgia, Washington, New York and South Dakota, while the largest decreases were in California, Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Missouri.
More than 52,000 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission, a decrease of approximately 7,000 jobless claims from the week prior.
“Though the 12.6% weekly decline indicates that the volume of initial claims has retreated from its recent peak, it may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time,” VEC Economist Timothy Aylor said in a statement.
Although the number of initial claims for unemployment decreased, the number of Virginians who have continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits reached 392,673 last week — a 4% increase from the previous week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file unemployment claims each week in order to continue receiving benefits.
More than 2.98 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, marking a total of more than 36 million Americans who have filed jobless claims during the last eight weeks in the wake of the economic devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the May 9 filing week, the hospitality and food service sectors continued to see the greatest percentage of initial claims for unemployment — 19% of those reporting.
“This reflects impacts of public health and safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Aylor said in a statement. “However, that percentage has declined since March 21, when about 45% of initial claims filed were in those industries.”
The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 9:
Fairfax County, 6,272
Prince William County, 3,098
Virginia Beach, 2,542
Loudoun County, 1,980
Chesterfield County, 1,912
Richmond, 1,910
Henrico County, 1,876
Norfolk, 1,695
Newport News, 1,468
Chesapeake, 1,390
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 195,000. In the week ending April 25, 23 states reported that 3.4 million people are claiming federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides temporary benefits for people who are not eligible for regular or traditional unemployment insurance.
Thirteen states reported 79,538 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular or traditional unemployment insurance benefits to those who have exhausted their eligibility.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 15.7% for the week that ended May 2, a 0.3% increase from the previous week.
The states with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending on April 25 were California, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia, Vermont, New York, Connecticut and Washington.
States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on May 2 were Oklahoma, Maryland, New Jersey, Maine and Puerto Rico, while the largest decreases were in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Washington and Pennsylvania.
More than 2.98 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, marking a total of more than 36 million Americans who have filed jobless claims during the last eight weeks in the wake of the economic devastation brought on by the COVID-19pandemic.
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 195,000. In the week ending April 25, 23 states reported that 3.4 million people are claiming federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides temporary benefits for people who are not eligible for regular or traditional unemployment insurance.
Thirteen states reported 79,538 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular or traditional unemployment insurance benefits to those who have exhausted their eligibility.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 15.7% for the week that ended May 2, a 0.3% increase from the previous week.
The states with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending on April 25 were California, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia, Vermont, New York, Connecticut and Washington.
States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on May 2 were Oklahoma, Maryland, New Jersey, Maine and Puerto Rico, while the largest decreases were in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Washington and Pennsylvania.
This story will be updated with Virginia-specific statistics, when available.
The United States construction industry lost 975,000 jobs in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s the largest recorded decrease in construction jobs since 1939 — when the government first started tracking employment, according to ABC.
“The hope had been that construction activity would hold up well, given the industry’s classification as an essential industry in much of the nation and the presence of substantial backlog coming into the [COVID-19] crisis, which stood at 8.2 months in February,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a statement. “But alas, in large measure, those hopes were not realized.” The Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) is a forward-looking national economic indicator that shows work construction companies are contracted to do in the future, measured in dollars.
Although construction remains an essential industry in the majority of U.S. states, there were 560,500 people who lost their nonresidential construction jobs. The greatest job losses occurred among nonresidential specialty trade contractors, nonresidential builders and heavy and civil engineers, according to ABC.
“The level of construction industry job loss in April easily surpassed that of the worst month sustained during the Great Recession, when 155,000 jobs were lost in March 2009,” Basu said. “The construction industry lost nearly a million jobs last month alone.”
This brought the construction unemployment rate to 16.6% in April, which is 11.9% higher than April 2019. But “because of technical reasons related to the BLS survey and a classification error in several responses, the unemployment rate is probably closer to 20%,” the ABC statement said.
ABC anticipates that May will present more job losses.
“Based on a combination of business confidence indicators, initial unemployment claims and other emerging data, May will represent another month of crushing construction employment loss,” Basu said. “Project postponements and cancelations are now commonplace, with construction backlog failing to be the protective shield that it normally is during the early stages of economy-wide recession.”
State employment numbers that would reflect Virginia-specific construction job losses won’t be released until May 22, an ABC spokesperson said.
“Though the 17.7% decline indicates that the volume of initial claims has retreated from its recent peak, it may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time,” VEC Economist Timothy Aylor said in a statement.
Although the number of initial claims for unemployment decreased, the number of Virginians who have continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits reached 376,689 last week — a 10% increase from the previous week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file unemployment claims each week in order to continue receiving benefits.
More than 3.1 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, marking a total of 33.4 million Americans who have filed jobless claims during the last seven weeks.
The regions of the state that have been most impacted are Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 2:
Fairfax County, 7,029
Prince William County, 3,541
Virginia Beach, 3,093
Loudoun County, 2,399
Richmond, 2,290
Chesterfield County, 2,185
Henrico County, 2,163
Norfolk, 1,874
Chesapeake, 1,693
Newport News, 1,619
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 677,000. For the week that ended April 18, the total number of people claiming benefits in all unemployment programs for the week was 18.9 million, up 2.4 million from the previous week. During the same week in 2019, there were 1.6 million people claiming benefits.
In the week ending April 18, 11 states reported nearly 1 million people claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance through the CARES Act. It provides temporary benefits for people who are not eligible for regular or traditional unemployment insurance.
Seven states reported 52,305 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (also through the CARES Act), which provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular or traditional unemployment insurance benefits to those who have exhausted their eligibility.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 15.5% for the week that ended April 25, a 3.1% increase from the previous week.
The states with the highest unemployment rates for the week ending on April 18 were Vermont, West Virginia, Michigan, Rhode Island, Nevada, Connecticut, Puerto Rico, Georgia, New York and Washington. States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on April 25 were Washington, Georgia, New York, Oregon and Alabama. The largest decreases happened in California, Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
More than 72,000 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission, a decrease of about 10,000 jobless claims from the week prior.
“Though the 12.4% decline indicates that the volume of initial claims has retreated from its recent peak, it may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time,” VEC Economist Timothy Aylor said in a statement.
And although the number of initial claims for unemployment decreased, the number of Virginians who have continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits reached 341,295 last week — more than 10% of private sector payroll employment in the commonwealth. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file unemployment claims each week in order to continue receiving benefits.
Source Virginia Economic Security Commission
Young workers and female workers continue to make up the majority of initial claimants, although the numbers of older workers, male workers and minority workers grew during the past week, according to the VEC.
More than 3.8 million people in the United States filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, marking a total of 30.3 million Americans who have filed jobless claims during the last six weeks.
Last week’s U.S. claims were down by 603,000 from the week before, a sign that the flood of initial claims may be slowing.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 12.4% for the week that ended April 18, a 1.5% increase from the previous week.
The states with the highest unemployment rates for the week that ended on April 11 were Michigan, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington, Alaska, New York and West Virginia. States with the largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended on April 18 were Florida, Connecticut, West Virginia, Louisiana and Texas. The largest decreases happened in California, Michigan, Georgia and Washington.
The regions of the state that have been most impacted are Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of continued unemployment claims, for the week ending April 25:
Approximately 10 million jobs have been lost in the United States since early April, according to a biweekly survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists — bringing the total jobs lost since mid-March to approximately 34 million.
“The size of these changes are hard to fathom,” said Adam Blandin, the VCU School of Business assistant professor who conducted the survey, in a statement. “In the Great Recession, it took over a year for the employment rate to decline 5 percentage points. Our estimates suggest that the employment rate has fallen more than twice as much in the last month.”
When the last VCU-Arizona State survey was released on April 17, an estimated 24 million jobs had been lost, amounting to a 12% decline in the national employment rate. The survey released Monday indicates an employment rate of 55.8% among working-age adults during the week of April 12 through April 18.
A survey conducted by economists from VCU and Arizona State University finds an employment rate of 55.8% among working-age adults in the week of April 12-18. Data in the above chart from Jan. 12-March 8 is derived from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey, while more recent data derived from responses to the VCU/ASU survey. Chart courtesy Skye Shannon, VCU School of Business
This is the second Real Time Population Survey that Blandin and Alexander Bick, an associate professor of economics at Arizona State, conducted. The second survey indicates that many unemployed workers have also stopped seeking replacement jobs.
“Even many of those who still have jobs are earning less,” Blandin added. “We find that 42% of those who were working in February have experienced a loss in earnings.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts the Current Population Survey once per month and reports results with a three-week delay. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics results for the same week, April 12 through April 18, won’t be released until May 8.
A major difference between the results of the first and second surveys show that declines in employment were initially concentrated among women, but have shifted toward men during the most recent reporting week. However, older and less-educated workers still remain hard-hit.
The next round of survey results will be released on May 8, covering the period from April 26 through May 2.
For many restaurant workers, their final shifts fell on Saturday, March 14.
“We had kind of a weird weekend, and at Saturday night, it was so dead in there, we said, ‘Should we shut down?’” recalls Brandon Peck, bartender at The Jasper, a popular Richmond craft cocktail bar. “The governor had, that day, made a statement banning groups of more than 50. We said we just need to call it.”
Leslie Hong heard from her two jobs — as a front-of-house floater at L’Opossum and a server at Metzger Bar & Butchery, both in Richmond — on March 14 and 15. “We thought at the time it would be closed just through April,” she says of L’Opossum, a French-inspired restaurant that books tables months in advance and remained busy through its last service. “Then, a bunch of news happened over the weekend. By the end of that week, we were closed through all of April.”
And now, all three restaurants are shut down until at least June 10, the day Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order is set to expire. Metzger’s sister restaurant, Brenner Pass, is still open for takeout, and Hong said the owners have spread tips to all staff members, even those who are out of work.
Hong and Peck are among an estimated 237,000 Virginia restaurant workers, or 78% of the state’s dining industry workforce, who have lost their jobs since March — laid off because there aren’t enough shifts available with dining rooms closed, or their workplaces are shut down completely. The National Restaurant Association forecasts that restaurants and the food service sector in Virginia stand to lose $1.3 billion in revenues for April.
Meanwhile, some restaurant owners have struggled to receive funding from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allocated $349 billion nationwide in just 13 days before running out of money last week. More than 40,000 applications filed by Virginia businesses received $8.7 billion, according to the Virginia Bankers Association, but 22,726 small business applications totaling requests for $3.235 billion have not been filled.
Christina Fiore said she’s struggled to get unemployment but still has hope for Richmond’s restaurant industry.
Christina Fiore, a server at The Roosevelt and Alamo BBQ in Richmond, also got laid off on March 14 and 15. She received a severance check from the Roosevelt’s owners and worked some takeout shifts there, but a blip in Fiore’s job history — a “voluntarily quit” job three years ago, she was told — disqualified her from receiving unemployment benefits temporarily. After getting that straightened out, the Virginia Employment Commission had the incorrect bank account number for her, she said. Finally, after speaking with three people at VEC, Fiore said she’s received one payment for a few hundred dollars.
“My back’s up against a wall,” she said. “I live alone. I have no family in Virginia. I really hope something comes together really soon.”
The good, the bad, the ugly
Lily Hargis, a pie tender at Richmond’s Proper Pie Co., has received a little more than $100 a week from VEC but has not yet received a federal check. “I applied pretty much the day I got laid off,” and it took about two weeks for her to see any money, Hargis said. “I had a job that wasn’t reflected in my job history when I applied for unemployment.”
Trying to speak to a person at VEC, Hargis kept getting disconnected after one ring. She tried 47 times in one day — she went into her phone history and counted — and then, finally, the call went through. “I heard, ‘There are 1,794 people in front of you. It was so insane.” After seven hours on hold, she finally reached someone.
“The woman I spoke with was incredibly kind,” Hargis said, and she’s been able to receive funds since then.
Peck got lucky. He got his $1,200 stimulus check from the IRS and started receiving the $600 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplemental check, in addition to state unemployment, within a couple of weeks after losing his bartending job on March 15. Others interviewed for this story said they had not received their IRS checks yet.
Cyan Sada
Cyan Sada, a student teacher who worked as a server and bartender at a Chili’s Grill & Bar in Chesterfield County, received state unemployment quickly but had to wait about a month to begin receiving the weekly $600 federal check, which landed this week by surprise in her bank account. Her parents helped her with April’s rent check. “If I was just getting my unemployment, I couldn’t make my rent,” she said. Virginia unemployment benefits are capped at $378 a week. She, too, received the IRS payment.
Hong applied for unemployment, “and that was a two-week process,” in which she was first notified that she didn’t qualify.
After calling the governor’s office and getting an email address for the head of customer relations at VEC, Hong says she was able to get her unemployment issue straightened out, and now she’s also receiving the weekly $600 federal unemployment supplement. Both she and Peck say the combination of state and federal funding has matched and even possibly exceeded their usual income, but it’s still a stressful time.
“I personally was very, very distraught for the first couple of weeks,” Peck said. “I like to keep myself busy all of the time.”
A musician and a longtime restaurant worker, Hong says, “Everything I’ve devoted my life to, it’s totally been pulled out from under my feet.”
Richard Tai Nguyen, operations director at Nam-Viet Restaurant in Arlington, said his staff is ready to get back to work.
Richard Tai Nguyen, operations director at his family’s Nam-Viet Restaurant in Arlington, has helped raise $7,500 for his 15 employees by selling restaurant gift cards.
“We try to take care of them the best we could, and paid staff up through the end of the month” when the Vietnamese restaurant closed on March 18, Nguyen said. Takeout and delivery, he noted, don’t bring in enough income to break even, so his family decided it would be better to temporarily close the business, which has been open since 1986.
“You can’t have your staff idle,” Nguyen said. “They’ve got families to take care of. A lot of them are anxious to come back to work. We’re hoping to get back as soon as we can.”
Also, he noted, the weekly $600 federal pandemic unemployment checks will be ending on the week of July 25.
Joyce Fogg, the VEC’s communications manager, acknowledges that the state unemployment benefits agency has been overwhelmed with calls and emails since the middle of March, with wait times “over two hours.” She’s not even part of the department that works directly with unemployment filers but she still receives 200 or 300 calls a day, she says, and the VEC’s customer service department is “inundated” with emails, to the point that it now has a 15,000-email backlog. To respond to the incredible volume of calls, the VEC has hired 25 more people for its call center in Grundy and 10 more in South Boston, as well as pulling in any member of the agency with unemployment insurance experience. The agency also has begun contracting with a third-party call center, Fogg said.
As for delays in payments, Fogg said, anyone who is self-employed, an independent contractor (also known as a 1099 worker) or gig worker does not qualify for unemployment benefits, but they must still go through the application process and be turned down for unemployment. Then they can reapply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which covers nontraditional workers.
The $600 weekly federal unemployment payments kick in automatically for anyone who qualifies for unemployment benefits, Fogg added, but the federal payments didn’t arrive for most people until recently, and most can expect a couple of weeks of back payments. Also, “a lot of people are getting the federal stimulus check,” the $1,200 check from the IRS, she said. Although work remains very hectic and some VEC employees are working seven days a week, Fogg expects the situation will settle down. “My phone has stopped ringing in the middle of the night,” she noted.
Helping others
Lily Hargis (right) has a porch picnic with her roommate. She has received a couple hundred dollars in benefits since being laid off in mid-March.
Randall McGarry, a manager at Secret Sandwich Society’s Richmond location, started a Facebook group for local restaurant workers that now has about 2,000 members who exchange stories about their unemployment experiences and post information about private funds that are lending support. Although McGarry has received state and federal funds himself, he realizes that many workers are falling through the cracks — undocumented workers, in particular.
“It’s a large and essential part of the restaurant community,” he said, noting that no one without a Social Security number can apply for unemployment benefits. So far, McGarry has raised $7,000 and is sending sums directly to individuals through Venmo and Cash App.
Many restaurant workers have applied for relief through private grants and loans, like Richmond’s Holli Fund, which provides rent assistance and other basics for restaurant workers in need.
At a particularly low point, Fiore was invited for dinner by friends who knew she was having difficulty. She feels a lot of “pride and camaraderie” in the Richmond restaurant scene, which has earned national accolades in recent years. It’s hard to tell what the landscape will look like in the future, but Fiore holds on to hope that things will work out in the end.
She advises fellow restaurant workers to “be resilient and be persistent and be annoying. I’ve been poor before; I’ve been broke before. I know how to survive.”
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