New Virginia unemployment claims up sharply after weeks of stasis

Seasonally unadjusted new unemployment claims filed in Virginia last week were up 24.7 percent, after several weeks of holding steady or declining.

For the filing week ending Oct. 17, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 11,365. The latest claims figure was an increase of 2,255 claimants from the previous week, but was in line with claims volumes trends seen in recent months following April’s peak.

For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 129,300, which was a 9.1 percent decrease from the previous week, but 112,532 higher than the 16,768 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

This drop indicated a continuation of its recent declining trend.

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.