The number of new initial unemployment claims filed in Virginia was up over the previous week, according to data released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission.
For the filing week ending July 18, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 37,946. The latest claims figure was an increase of 5,654 claimants from the previous week and rose to its highest level since May.
The total number of initial claims filed from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March through the July 18 filing week has now surpassed 1 million initial claims.
For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 357,098, down 14,972 from the previous week, but 337,023 higher than the 20,075 continued claims from the comparable week last year.
They have trended downward in the last month and fell to their lowest level since April during the most recent filing week.
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.
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AFP
