The number of initial unemployment claims filed with the Virginia Employment Commission during the Jan. 23 filing week remained elevated when compared to recent months’ levels.
For the filing week ending Jan. 23, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 18,312. While still elevated compared to recent months’ trends, the latest claims figure was a decrease of 2,761 claimants from the previous week.
Elevated levels in recent weeks may have, in part, reflected seasonal spikes in layoffs often seen after the holidays, as well as reapplications for benefits following the government’s renewal of supplemental benefits until March 14 as part of the latest stimulus package.
For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 67,298, which was a 5.4 percent increase from the previous week, but 45,637 higher than the 21,661 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.
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