Inside the Numbers: Unemployment a year into COVID-19

We’re a year into the COVID-19 economy. One data point that will stand out is the number of unemployment claims. The numbers are sobering.

According to the Virginia Employment Commission, the number of initial claims filed during the year since pandemic employment impacts began to be felt in March 2020 exceeded the total number filed during the previous three economic recessions.

Yeah, yikes.

The total number of claims filed since the March 21, 2020 filing week is 1,508,365, compared to the 477,600 average filed during the previous three economic recessions since 1990, according to data from the VEC released on Thursday.

For the filing week ending March 13, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 15,525.

The latest claims figure was an increase of 1,789 claimants from the previous week. This brought

For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 59,976, which was a 3.7 percent decrease from the previous week, but 38,640 higher than the 21,336 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

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