As the state approaches the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic’s presence here, initial jobless claims remained essentially unchanged from the previous week, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission. Continued claims fell slightly.
During the week ending Feb. 27, 12,155 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims, compared to 11,944 from the week prior.
Last week, 63,998 Virginians remained unemployed, which represents 41,795 more claims filed compared to the same period in 2020, but approximately a 1% decrease from the previous week’s filings. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
“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,” according to the VEC.
