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.