First-time unemployment filings jump 40 percent in Henrico

For the first time in three months, the number of Henrico residents who filed initial unemployment claims rose during the most recent reporting week, according to data released today by the Virginia Employment Commission – and the jump was dramatic.

A total of 1,004 people filed first-time claims during the week of June 21-27 – a jump of nearly 40 percent from the previous week. The county’s first-time filings had declined for 11 straight weeks since peaking during the week ending April 4 at 5,586.

The county was not alone in the change; 113 of the state’s 133 localities also witnessed an increase in initial claims during the most recent week. By contrast, only 24 localities had witnessed an increase last week.

Henrico reported the seventh-highest number of new filers during the most recent week on record, and the county also has reported the seventh-most initial filers overall (32,986) since the pandemic began – a reporting period of 14 weeks.

Statewide, nearly 32,000 people filed first-time claims during the most recent week – a jump of about 26 percent from the previous week.

In Henrico, only about 46 percent of people who filed initial unemployment claims during the first 13 weeks of the pandemic filed continuing claims last week, suggesting that some may have returned to work.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});