The Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday that the number of continued claims fell to pre-pandemic levels during the most recent filing week.
For the filing week ending Jan. 15, continued weeks claimed totaled 7,059, which was a decrease of 1,131 claims from the previous week and 89 percent lower than the 63,839 continued claims from the comparable week last year.
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.
For the filing week ending Jan. 15, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 2,849. The latest claims figure was an increase of 406 claimants from the previous week.
Over half of initial claims that had a self-reported industry were in construction, administrative and waste services, retail trade, 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.
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