For the filing week ending Aug. 21, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial unemployment claims in Virginia was 11,923, a decrease of 4,670 claimants from the previous week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
This brought the total number of claims filed since the March 21, 2020 filing week to 1,791,102, compared to the 477,600 average filed during the previous three economic recessions since 1990.
For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 37,075, which was an increase of 1,994 claims from the previous week, but 85 percent lower than the 249,745 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, administrative and waste services industries, retail trade, and accommodation and food services.
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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Chris Graham
