Marginal increase in new Virginia unemployment claims in the past week

The Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday initial weekly unemployment claims of 1,932, and number of continued claims was 7,253.

The continued weeks claims total was unchanged from the previous week and remained at pre-pandemic levels during the most recent filing week.

For the filing week ending April 30, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 1,932. The latest claims figure was an increase of 87 claimants from the previous week.

Over half of initial claims that had a self-reported industry were in administrative and waste services, retail trade, professional, scientific, and technical services, and health care and social assistance. Eligibility for benefits is determined on a weekly basis, and so not all weekly claims filed result in a benefit payment. This is because the initial claims numbers represent claim applications; claims are then reviewed for eligibility and legitimacy.

For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 7,253, which was an increase of one claim from the previous week and was 87 percent lower than the 55,195 continued claims from the comparable week last year.