Slight uptick in initial unemployment claims in Virginia

For the filing week ending Sept. 19, seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia were 10,582, an increase of 482 claimants from the previous week, but this continued the overall trend of lower claims volumes seen in recent months following April’s peak.

For the most recent filing week, from figures provided by the Virginia Employment Commission, continued weeks claimed totaled 188,195, which was a 6.7% decrease from the previous week, but 170,944 higher than the 17,251 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

Continued weeks claimed have declined at a consistent pace since mid-August—around 6.6% a 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.