Dramatic drop in new Virginia unemployment claims last week

For the filing week ending Oct. 16, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial unemployment claims in Virginia was 1,967. The latest claims figure was a decrease of 7,380 claimants from the previous week.

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 58,421, which was an increase of 11,954 claims from the previous week but 55 percent lower than the 129,300 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

Over half of claims that had a self-reported industry were in the health care and social assistance, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and administrative and waste services industries. 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.