Initial jobless claims on the rise again

Va. saw 8.7% increase in initial jobless claims last week

Published October 29, 2020 by Sydney Lake

The number of initial jobless claims in Virginia rose by 8.7% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. 

For the week ending Oct. 24, 12,352 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment, an increase of 987 from the previous week — rising to its highest level since mid-August, according to the VEC. Continued claims dropped by 1.3%, however.

Last week, 127,621 Virginians remained unemployed. This is still 110,732 higher than the 16,889 continued claims from the same period last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

“Although a deceleration, this drop indicated a continuation of its recent declining trend,” according to a VEC statement issued Thursday. “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.” 

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 Oct. 24:

• Richmond, 764
• Fairfax County, 728
• Virginia Beach, 662
• Prince William County, 659
• Norfolk, 608
• Newport News, 330
• Henrico County, 297
• Chesterfield County, 294
• Loudoun County, 235
• Portsmouth, 228

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for last week was 751,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 198,733 initial claims during the same week last year.

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