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Va. had fewer job openings in October

Virginia had 308,000 job openings in October, the largest drop in openings among U.S. states, as well as 108,000 quits, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data released Dec. 17.

In September, Virginia had a record-setting 336,000 job openings, but in October, openings declined by 28,000, the largest drop among states. The October job openings rate fell 0.7 of a percentage point to 7.2%, also the largest drop among states. Nationwide, the rate of job openings growth was little changed at 6.9%.

Nationwide, the industries that led in September job openings growth were accommodation and food services, nondurable goods manufacturing and educational services. Job openings decreased in state and local government, excluding education.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines job openings as positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets three conditions: A specific position exists and there is work available for that position; the job could start within 30 days, whether the employer can find a suitable candidate during that time; and the employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of hires, defined as additions to the payroll during the month, in Virginia fell by 29,000 to 153,000 in October. Virginia had the largest decrease in hires among states. Nationwide, the number of hires rose slightly to nearly 6.5 million.

The number of quits — voluntary separations initiated by the employee — in Virginia decreased by 7,000 to 108,000, which was 6% lower than in September. The Virginia quits rate decreased to 2.7%, down from 2.9% in September.

Across the U.S., the number of quits decreased by 205,000 to 4.2 million, down from a record 4.4 million the month before. The U.S. quits rate decreased to 2.8% in October.

The number of layoffs and discharges — involuntary separations initiated by the employer — in Virginia remained unchanged at 28,000, a 90% decrease from the pandemic high in March 2020. Nationwide, the number of layoffs and discharges fell by 35,000, and the rate by 2.5%.

“Most measures of Virginia job openings and labor turnover in October suggested some slow-down in labor market activity,” according to a Virginia Employment Commission news release. “The rate of hiring weakened significantly, perhaps impacted by the severe worker shortage in many parts of the state’s economy. The number of hires declined by 16% over the month to its lowest level since the beginning of this year. … In such an environment, low numbers of layoffs in October may be another indication of employers’ efforts to hold onto scarce workers.”

The hires-per-job-openings ratio (HPJO) fell to 0.5 in October in Virginia and was little changed at 0.6 nationwide. The HPJO is a proxy for time to fill positions or the efficiency in filling open jobs in a labor market. The HPJO at the nonfarm-industry level has decreased steadily since the end of the Great Recession, and by January 2015, the ratio was regularly below 1.0, indicating less efficiency.

In October, as in September, there was less than one (0.5) unemployed worker per job opening in the state, the lowest rate since February 2020. The unemployed per job opening ratio, or job seekers ratio, stood at 3.1 in April 2020.

Va. unemployment rate dropped to 3.4% in November

In November, Virginia’s unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, 0.2 points below October’s rate, marking 18 straight months of declines, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.

In November 2020, the jobless rate was 2.4 points higher than last month.

The labor force increased by 2,706 to almost 4.26 million, and the number of unemployed residents decreased by 8,627 from October, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Friday. The state recorded over-the-year job gains of 2.1%. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to be below the national rate, which was 4.2% last month.

“The commonwealth’s unemployment rate has decreased once again, for the 18th month in a row and to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” Northam said in a statement. “Virginia continues to remain a place where both businesses and workers can thrive — and these numbers prove that.”

The number of employed Virginians increased by 11,333 to 4.11 million in November. The private sector saw an increase of 13,600 jobs to 3.2 million total, while public sector jobs remained steady at 716,800 total, according to VEC.

Employment rose in nine of the 11 major industry sectors, declined in one and was unchanged in government. The largest job gain during November occurred in leisure and hospitality services, with an increase of 3,800 jobs to 361,000. The second largest increase was in trade, transportation and utilities, which added 3,600 jobs for a total of 661,600. The other sectors with increases were education and health services, professional and business services, manufacturing, construction, finance, information and mining.

Miscellaneous services was the only sector to see job loss, losing 600 to drop to 183,000 total.

The VEC reported that nine of Virginia’s 10 metropolitan areas saw nonfarm job gains during November, with Northern Virginia gaining 50,600 jobs and the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford area taking second with 4,900 jobs. The Richmond metropolitan area was the only area that had an over the year job loss, losing 2,900 jobs.

Virginia has seen a decrease in initial unemployment claims recently, with claims dropping 47% for 3,450 filed in the most recent filing week, which followed a 50% drop in the week ending Nov. 27.

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.

Va. had record 328,000 job openings in September

Virginia had 328,000 job openings in September and 123,000 quits, 4,000 fewer quits than the April 2021 peak, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data released Nov. 19.

The September job openings number set a record previously set in July, when there were 320,000 openings. The Virginia job openings rate rose to 7.7% in September, a new series high. Nationwide in September, the rate of job openings was little changed at 6.6%.

Nationwide, the industries that led in September job openings growth were health care and social assistance; state and local government, excluding education; wholesale trade; and information. Job openings decreased in state and local government education; real estate; educational services; and other services.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines job openings as positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets three conditions: A specific position exists and there is work available for that position; the job could start within 30 days, whether the employer can find a suitable candidate during that time; and the employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of hires, defined as additions to the payroll during the month, in Virginia rose by 6,000 to 190,000 in September. The series high of 265,000 occurred in June 2020, and the low of 77,000 in April 2020. Nationwide, the number of hires remained at about 6.5 million for September.

The number of quits — voluntary separations initiated by the employee — in Virginia rose 12,000 to 123,000, the highest level since the record set in April. The Virginia quits rate increased to 3.1% and neared the April peak of 3.3%.

Across the U.S., the number of quits rose to a series high of 4.4 million and increased in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry, state and local government education and other services. The September quits rate hit a high of 3%.

The number of layoffs and discharges — involuntary separations initiated by the employer — in Virginia declined by 7,000 to 31,000, down 90% from the pandemic high in March 2020. Nationwide, the number and rate of layoffs and discharged remained at about 1.4 million in September, and the layoffs and discharges rate was unchanged at 0.9%.

“September’s JOLTS indicators suggest that Virginia employer demand for workers remained at highly elevated levels as the number of job openings reached their highest level in the past twenty years and the number of quits was also near record highs, indicating that labor markets remained in an unusual state of disequilibrium,” according to the report. “At the same time, hiring ramped up in September in the commonwealth, which could indicate that progress has begun being made in alleviating the labor shortage that has been seen across the nation over the last year.”

The hires-per-job-openings ratio (HPJO) was 0.6 in both Virginia and the U.S. The HPJO is a proxy for time to fill positions or the efficiency in filling open jobs in a labor market. The HPJO at the nonfarm-industry level has decreased steadily since the end of the Great Recession, and by January 2015, the ratio was regularly below 1.0, indicating less efficiency.

In September, there was less than one (0.5) unemployed worker per job opening in the state, the lowest rate since February 2020. The unemployed per job opening ratio, or job seekers ratio, stood at 3.1 in April 2020.

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.

Va. new employment claims rise slightly

Virginia’s new unemployment claims rose by about 19% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Friday.

For the filing week ending Nov. 6, Virginians filed 1,290 new claims, an increase of 202 from the week before. Continued claims totaled 24,922, a decrease of 6,642 from the previous week.

Compared to the same week last year, initial claims were about 87% lower than the 9,909 recorded then. Continued claims were 73% lower than the 91,960 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: accommodation/food services; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The VEC has been under scrutiny this year for backlogs of claims and for multiple delays in the launch of its updated claims system. The VEC shut down its system last Monday to launch the new one, and a recent report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shows that the agency has made progress in its backlog, down to 437,000 outstanding claims. The report also shows, though, that the VEC is trying to recoup more than $1.2 billion that was incorrectly paid out, WWBT reported.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 267,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since the 256,000 reported on March 14, 2020. There were 720,432 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020.

Va. new jobless claims decline to almost 1,000

Virginia’s new unemployment claims decreased by about 58% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending Oct. 30, Virginians filed 1,088 new claims, a decrease of 1,482 claims from the week before. Continued claims totaled 31,564, a decrease of 13,276 from the previous week.

Compared to the same week last year, initial claims were about 89% lower than the 10,350 reported then. Continued claims were 68% lower than the 99,711 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: health care and social assistance; administrative and waste services; accommodation/food service; and retail.

The VEC has been under scrutiny this year for backlogs of claims and, most recently, for delaying the launch of its updated claims system from Oct. 1 to November. The VEC had announced that it would shut down its system Monday at 5 p.m. to launch the new system, but it has delayed the rollout again, pushing the implementation date to Nov. 8, WVEC’s 13News Now reported.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 269,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since the 256,000 reported on March 14, 2020. There were 737,503 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020.

Va. new jobless claims rise slightly

Virginia’s new unemployment claims rose by about 30% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday, but remained about 8,000 lower than the number filed two weeks ago.

For the filing week ending Oct. 23, Virginians filed 2,570 initial claims, an increase of 603 claims from the week before. Continued claims totaled 44,840, a decrease of 13,581 from the previous week.

Compared to the same week last year, initial claims were about 79% lower than the 12,352 recorded then. Continued claims were 65% lower than the 127,621 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: health care and social assistance; retail; accommodation/food service; and administrative and waste services.

The VEC has been under scrutiny this year for backlogs of claims and, most recently, for delaying the launch of its updated claims system from Oct. 1 to November. VEC is shutting down the current system at 5 p.m. on Monday to implement the new system, a process that it expects to take several days, WDVM reported.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 281,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since the 256,000 reported on March 14, 2020. There were 732,533 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020.

Va. unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% in September

In September, Virginia’s unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, 0.2 points below August’s rate, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The state’s unemployment rate has declined for 16 months straight.

In September 2020, the jobless rate was at 6.6%, 2.8 points higher than last month. The labor force decreased by 3,859 to 4.2 million, but the number of unemployed residents decreased by 8,606 from August, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Friday. The state recorded over-the-year job gains of 1.8%. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to be below the national rate, which was 4.8% last month.

“September marks the 16th consecutive month Virginia’s unemployment rate has dropped,” Northam said in a statement. “People are working, businesses are hiring, and that’s all good news. This consistent progress shows the strength of Virginia’s economy, and we need to keep this momentum going.”

The number of employed Virginians increased by 4,747 to 4.08 million in September. The private sector saw an increase of 7,500 jobs to 3.2 million jobs total, while public sector jobs decreased by 4,800 jobs to 713,000, according to the VEC.

Employment rose in four of 11 major industry sectors, declined in six and was unchanged in one, the VEC reported. Mining was the only sector to see no change in employment.

The largest job gain during September occurred in professional and business services which gained 9,900 jobs for a total of 781,000 jobs. The second largest increase was in education and health services, with an increase of 2,900 jobs to total 534,600. The other industries with increases were manufacturing and information.

The largest job loss during September occurred in government, with a decrease of 4,800 jobs to 713,000, caused by the loss of 7,500 jobs in local government. State government added 2,100 jobs, and federal, 600 jobs The second largest decrease occurred in miscellaneous services, which fell by 3,700 jobs to 181,500. Other decreases included leisure and hospitality services; trade, transportation and utilities; finance; and construction.

The VEC reported that five of Virginia’s 10 metropolitan areas saw nonfarm job gains during September, with the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area gaining 3,300 jobs and Northern Virginia taking second with 1,700 jobs. Charlottesville had the largest decrease, losing 1,300 jobs during the month.

After a surge of 300% in initial unemployment claims in mid-September, the state saw numbers return to relatively normal levels for three weeks. Last filing week, VEC recorded fewer than 2,000 initial claims.

Va. new jobless claims drop under 2,000

Virginia’s new unemployment claims fell dramatically last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending Oct. 16, Virginians filed 1,967 initial claims, a decrease of 7,380 claims from the week before. Continued claims totaled 58,421, an increase of 11,954 claims from the previous week.

Compared to the same week last year, initial claims were about 83% lower than the 11,365 recorded then. Continued claims were 55% lower than the 129,300 claims 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 the claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: health care and social assistance; retail; accommodations/food service; and administrative and waste services.

The VEC has been under scrutiny this year for backlogs of claims and most recently, for delaying the launch of its updated claims system from Oct. 1 to November.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 290,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level. There were 759,081 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020.