New Virginia unemployment claims down sharply over the past week

The Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday that new unemployment claims in the state were down 562 from last week, to 1,370.

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. Although the number of layoffs has been lower compared to a year ago, there was a significant layoff during the most recent filing week in professional and technical services.

For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 7,509, which was an increase of 256 claims from the previous week and was 87 percent lower than the 57,844 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

Over half of continued claims that had a self-reported industry were in administrative and waste services, professional, scientific, and technical services, health care and social assistance, and retail.