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Va. jobless claims continued to decrease last week

Virginia’s initial and continued unemployment claims continued to slightly decrease last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending July 31, the state recorded 6,029 new jobless claims, down 149 from the previous week, while continued claims totaled 31,960, down 1,643 from the previous week. Compared to the same week last year, continued claims were 90% lower than the 331,401 claims the same week in 2020, while initial claims last week were about 75% lower than a year ago, when claims reached 23,918.

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

On Monday, the General Assembly convened for a special session to allocate federal stimulus funds. Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed spending $862 million to refill the state’s unemployment trust fund, which funds unemployment benefits, and allocating $73.6 million to modernize the VEC, which is under court order to get through a backlog of 92,000 cases by Labor Day. As of July 17, the agency had brought the backlog to about 23,300, but it has not said how many new cases have been added to the load over the summer.

Early Thursday, the House of Delegates and Senate passed different versions of the budget that they will now have to reconcile.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week reported being in these industries: health care and social assistance; administrative and waste services; accommodations/food service; and retail.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 385,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 983,780 initial claims during the comparable week last year.

Va. jobless claims saw slight decrease last week

Virginia’s initial and continued unemployment claims decreased last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending July 24, the state recorded 6,178 new jobless claims, down 126 from the previous week, while continued claims totaled 33,603, down 1,599 from the previous week. Compared to the same week last year, continued claims were 90% lower than the 344,826 claims the same week in 2020, while initial claims last week were 86% lower than a year ago, when claims reached 42,966.

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

On Monday, the General Assembly will convene for a special session to allocate federal stimulus funds. Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed spending $862 million to refill the state’s unemployment trust fund, which funds unemployment benefits, and allocating $73.6 million to modernize the VEC, which is under court order to get through a backlog of 92,000 cases by Labor Day. As of July 17, the agency had brought the backlog to about 23,300, but it has not said how many new cases have been added to the load over the summer.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 400,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,202,278 initial claims during the same week last year.

Northam proposes $936M for unemployment fund, VEC

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that he wants to spend $935.6 million of $4.3 billion in federal aid on the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund and upgrading the Virginia Employment Commission.

The General Assembly will meet Aug. 2 for a special session to allocate the funding, which the state received through the the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March.

The governor’s proposal would put $862 million into Virginia’s unemployment insurance trust fund — which pays unemployment benefits — and $73.6 million into modernization efforts at the Virginia Employment Commission, including $37.4 million to increase call center capacity, $29.8 million for technology upgrades, about $4.6 million to hire more adjudication officers and $1.8 million for personnel support.

“Shoring up the commonwealth’s unemployment insurance trust fund is a smart investment that will prevent Virginia businesses from paying higher taxes and allow our economy to continue surging,” Northam said in a statement. “These actions will propel our modernization efforts forward so the Virginia Employment Commission can better serve those in need of assistance throughout our pandemic recovery and into the future. Together with the General Assembly, we are taking important steps to ensure Virginia remains a place where businesses, workers and families can all thrive.”

The Virginia Employment Commission struggled with unemployment claims in 2020. In May, following a lawsuit filed by five unemployed Virginia residents, a federal judge ordered the commission to get through a backlog of 92,000 cases by Labor Day. The VEC had brought the backlog down to about 23,300 as of July 17, but it has not said how many new cases have been added since.

Both the settlement and a directive issued by Northam required the VEC, then handling about 5,700 cases a week, to reach a weekly capacity of 10,000 cases by June 30 and of 20,000 by July 31. In May, Northam gave $20 million to the VEC to add 300 adjudication staffers and upgrade technology by Oct. 1.

The General Assembly’s 2020 special session budget included $210 million to backfill the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, and the 2021 budget dedicated $15 million to increase call center staffing levels and support IT system upgrades at the VEC, according to a news release from Northam’s office.

Northam has previously proposed spending $353 million of the American Rescue Plan funds on small business and tourism industry relief and $700 million on expanding broadband access. He also proposed using $250 million to improve ventilation in public schools and $411.5 million to improve water systems.

Va. new jobless claims edged up last week

Virginia’s initial unemployment claims increased slightly last week while continued claims decreased again, as they have for several weeks, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending July 17, the state recorded 6,304 new jobless claims, up 352 from the previous week, while continued claims totaled 35,202, down 1,135 from the previous week. Compared to the same week last year, continued claims were 90% lower than the 357,098 claims in 2020, while initial claims last week were 83% lower than a year ago, when claims reached 37,946.

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

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 419,000, an increase of 51,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,373,239 initial claims during the same week last year.

Virginia unemployment rate improves to 4.3% in June

Virginia’s unemployment rate dropped again in June, landing at 4.3%, 0.2 points below May’s jobless rate, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.

In June 2020, the unemployment rate was at 8.8%, 4.5% higher than June 2021. Virginia also continued to trend lower than the nation, which was at 5.9% unemployment last month, and the state had the fourth-lowest seasonally adjusted joblessness rate, according to Northam’s office.

“Virginia’s falling unemployment rate and expanding labor force show the strength of our economy and business climate,” Northam said in a statement. “We continue to be recognized as best place in America to do business because we are building a commonwealth where both workers and employers can thrive. We can all be optimistic about what the future holds as we move beyond this pandemic.”

The labor force increased by 4,343 to 4.23 million in June, with the number of unemployed Virginians decreasing by 5,448, according to data from the Virginia Employment Commission. The number of employed Virginians increased by 9,791 to 4.05 million.

The largest year-over-year job gains occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, which gained 67,200 jobs or 25.5%, and the next largest gain was in trade and transportation, which increased by 40,100 jobs, or 6.5%. Professional and business services saw a gain of 26,300 jobs, or a 3.5% increase. Public sector jobs rose by 10,500 in June, after months of declining public sector employment.

The VEC reported that eight out of Virginia’s 10 metropolitan areas saw nonfarm job gains during June, with the Richmond region gaining 2,800 jobs and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News ranking second with 2,100 more jobs. Lynchburg lost 300 jobs and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford marked a 100-job decrease during the month.

Va. jobless claims continued decline last week

The state’s initial unemployment claims continued to decrease last week, dipping below 6,000 in the filing week ending July 10, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Continued claims also decreased last week.

For last week, initial claims totaled 5,952, a decrease of 873 claims from the previous week, while continued claims went down by 1,453 to 36,337, VEC said. Compared to the same week last year, continued claims were 90% lower than the 372,070 claims in 2020, while initial claims last week were 82% lower than a year ago, when they reached 32,292. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Noting that the Hampton Roads area has seen a 40% decline in claims over the past two months, Dominique Johnson, a research associate at the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business, said in a statement, “While we have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, the number of claims filed in May and June 2021 had fallen below the roughly 10,000 initial claims filed in a single month at the height of the Great Recession. We expect this trend to continue in the coming months as the recovery continues to accelerate.”

However, notes Dragas Center Director Robert McNab, “While fewer residents of Hampton Roads are filing for and receiving unemployment benefits, we cannot forget that there were 69,000 fewer workers in the labor force in May 2021 when compared to February 2020. As the unemployment rolls continue to shrink over the summer, the next challenge will be to bring these workers back into the regional labor market. Rising wages and the return to full-time instruction in public schools in the fall will help, but employers in retail trade, restaurants and bars, and the tourism industry will continue to struggle to fill open positions in the coming months. Increasing COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths amongst the unvaccinated due to the rise of the Delta variant also threaten to undermine the relatively tepid regional recovery.”

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 360,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,512,549 initial claims during the same week last year.

Va. unemployment claims down slightly last week

Virginia saw a small decrease in initial claims for the filing week ending July 3, with 6,825 people making new jobless claims, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Continued claims also went down, totaling 37,790 last week, down by 2,435 from the previous week.

Initial claims declined by 1,371 last week compared to the previous week, and the total was down 80% compared to the same week in 2020, VEC said. Continued claims on the same week last year were at 378,607, 90% higher than last week’s continued claims. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

According to a state official leading a review of the backlog of claims at VEC, which is under a Labor Day deadline set by a federal judge to resolve more than 90,000 outstanding cases, the agency is still responding to only a “small portion” of calls by claimants who haven’t received their benefits. Lauren Axselle is part of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission team conducting a study about the VEC, with an interim report due to state lawmakers in September and a final report in November.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 373,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,391,178 initial claims during the same week last year.

Va. new jobless claims up, while continued claims decline

Virginia’s new unemployment claims rose to 8,196 in the filing week ending June 26, but continued claims decreased, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

Last week saw an increase of 1,291 initial jobless claims from the previous week, while continued claims totaled 40,225, a decrease of 2,653 claims from a week ago.

This time a year ago, 31,955 people filed new unemployment claims, 74.3% more than last week, while 366,714 people filed continued claims, 89% more than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 364,000, a decrease of 51,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,426,894 initial claims during the same week last year. Virginia saw the fifth-largest one-week increase in initial claims in the country last week, as many states reported decreases in claims.

Va. new jobless claims dropped below 7,000 last week

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

For the filing week ending June 19, 6,905 people filed initial jobless claims, a decrease of 944 from the previous week. Continued unemployment claims totaled 42,878 last week, down 1,915 claims from the previous week.

This time a year ago, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 25,293 people filed new unemployment claims, 72.69% more than last week, while 375,579 people filed continued claims, 89% more than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

On Wednesday, the VEC reported that May’s unemployment rate was at 4.5% statewide, a .2% decrease from April’s rate and below the national jobless rate of 5.8%

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail trade; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 411,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,447,127 initial claims during the same week last year.

State unemployment rate slid to 4.5% in May

Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 4.5% in May, dropping 0.2 percentage points below April’s jobless rate.

May’s statewide unemployment rate was 4 percentage points below May 2020’s rate of 8.5% in the first months of the pandemic shutdowns. Virginia continued to trend lower than the nation; the U.S. unemployment rate for May was 5.8%.

“More people are working in Virginia and our recovery is outpacing the rest of the country,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “This week, we reached the 70% vaccination benchmark, and we did it two weeks ahead of the nationwide July 4 target. In the weeks and months ahead, we will remain focused on helping the communities that COVID-19 hit hardest and making sure all Virginians have the resources they need to thrive.”

The labor force increased by 4,042 to 4.22 million in May, with the number of unemployed Virginians decreasing by 8,061, according to data released Wednesday by the Virginia Employment Commission. The number of employed Virginians increased by 12,103 to 4.04 million.

The largest year-over-year job gains occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, which gained 104,600 jobs or 45.7%, and the next largest gain was in trade, transportation and utilities, which increased by 59,800 jobs, or 10%. Education and health services saw a gain of 31,500 jobs, or a 6.3% increase. Government jobs fell by 3,600 in May, the state’s largest job loss last month, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.