Initial unemployment insurance claimants by county and city weeks ending Feb. 6 over Jan. 30 change. Green shows a decrease, yellow shows an increase of 1 to 10 claimants and red shows an increase of 11 to 58 claimants. Graphic courtesy Virginia Employmen
Initial jobless claims filed last week dropped 21.9% from the previous week, but still remain high compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission.
During the week ending Feb. 6, 14,203 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims, compared to 18,177 from the week prior.
Last week, 65,091 Virginians remained unemployed, a 3.3% decrease from the previous week, but 43,042 higher than the same period in 2020. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
