Continued unemployment claims in Virginia from the week ending April 17, 2021.
For the April 13-17 filing week, 13,751 Virginians submitted initial unemployment claims, a 173% increase from the previous week, but an 83% decrease from this time a year ago when jobless claims were near a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week’s new claims rose by 8,717 compared to those from the week ending April 10, when 5,034 people filed, according to the Virginia Employment Commission’s Thursday report.
The number of continued claims filed last week — 55,273 — dropped by 2,098 from the previous week. This week a year ago, 297,993 continued claims were filed, 82% higher than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
