Va. initial jobless claims remain high
Initial jobless claims filed last week were essentially unchanged compared with the previous week, but remain high compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission. During the week ending Jan. 30, 18,177 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims (compared to 18,312 from the week prior). “Elevated levels in recent weeks […[...]
Va. saw slight decline in initial jobless claims last week
Virginia saw a 13.1% drop in the number of initial jobless claims filed last week compared to the previous week, but unemployment remains high across the state, according to figures released by the Virginia Employment Commission on Thursday. The week ending Jan. 23 saw 18,312 Virginians filing initial unemployment claims, a decrease of 2,761 claimants […]
Unemployment shows minimal improvement in Va., U.S.
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by less than 1% between November 2020 and December 2020, according to the Virginia Employment Commission, and the commonwealth’s 4.9% December unemployment rate for December was 2.2% higher than in December 2019. Early predictions from Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists show that U.S. employment[...]
Va. sees highest number of initial jobless claims since July 2020
Last week, more than 28,000 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims — a 44.5% jump from the previous week. This is the greatest number of initial claims reported since July 2020. During the week ending Jan. 9, 28,227 Virginians filed initial claims, which was an increase of 8,697 from the previous week. This could in part […]
Initial jobless claims jumped 64.3% last week
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week jumped a staggering 64.3% to more than 19,000, according to Virginia Employment Commission data released Thursday. This is the highest number of initial claims reported since August 2020. For the week ending Jan. 2, 19,530 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment, an increase of 7,640 claimants […]
Northam orders companies held temporarily harmless for pandemic layoffs
Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order Tuesday that will hold Virginia businesses harmless for any layoffs made during three months of the pandemic. The end-of-year order protects businesses from having to pay an additional $200 million in payroll taxes to replenish the Virginia Employment Commission’s Unemployment Insurance Trust. Due to the COVID-19 economic fallout, […]
Pandemic brings end to decade of job gains
The public health crisis brought an unanticipated end to 11 straight quarters of economic growth and nearly a decade of job gains in Virginia, according to Old Dominion University’s 2020 State of the Commonwealth Report, released on Dec. 20 by ODU’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy. “The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected how […]
Va. unemployment rate fell less than 1% between October and November
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by less than 1% between October and November to 4.9%, according to employment statistics released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission — but unemployment still remains 2.2% higher than the same time last year. The labor force grew by 0.4% to 4.28 million between October and November, while the […]
14K+ Virginians filed initial jobless claims last week
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week reached close to its Aug. 8 peak, with more than 14,000 Virginians filing initial unemployment claims, according to Virginia Employment Commission data released Thursday. The week prior, initial claims reached more than 16,000. While there was a 12.9% decrease in claims from the previous week, the […]
Va. jobless claims fall to lowest level since March
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week fell to its lowest level since the pandemic’s employment effects began to be felt in mid-March, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Initial jobless claims in Virginia dropped by 29.7% last week compared with the previous filing week, according to the VEC, while continued claims fell […]
Labor market continued slow recovery in early November
The labor market continued its slow recovery during the week of Nov. 8, according to Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists. Early November saw 69.9% of working age adults employed, which is still far below the 73.8% employment rate from February right before the pandemic, according to the Real-Time Population Survey conducted by […]
Va. unemployment rate fell less than 1% between September and October
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by less than 1% between September and October to 5.3%, according to employment statistics released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission — but unemployment still remains 2.6% higher than the same time last year. The labor force fell by 0.4% to 4.27 million while the number of employed Virginians increased […]














