Initial jobless claims fell again last week

91K+ Virginians remain unemployed, however

Published November 12, 2020 by Sydney Lake

The number of initial jobless claims in Virginia dropped by 4.3% last week compared to the previous filing week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday, while continued claims fell by 7.8%.

For the week ending Nov. 7, 9,909 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment, a decrease of 441 from the previous week.

Last week, 91,960 Virginians remained unemployed, a 7.8% decrease from the previous week, but 73,760 higher than the 18,200 continued claims from the same period last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

“Over half of claims were in the accommodation/food service, health care, administrative support and retail trade industries,” according to the VEC. “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.”

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.

Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending Nov. 7:

Fairfax County, 651
Prince William County, 607
Richmond, 528
Virginia Beach, 511
Norfolk, 361
Chesterfield County, 302
Henrico County, 289
Portsmouth, 203
Newport News, 197
Loudoun County, 191

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for last week was 709,000, a decrease of 48,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 238,996 initial claims during the same week last year.