Henrico's first-time unemployment claims drop for 10th straight week

The number of first-time unemployment filings in Henrico County fell for the tenth straight week, according to data released last week by the Virginia Employment Commission.

A total of 792 county residents filed initial unemployment claims during the week of June 7-13, down about 18 percent from the previous week. Henrico’s total was the eighth-highest among state localities.

In the 13 weeks of filing data since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, a total of 31,264 county residents have filed initial claims. That number is seventh-highest in the state, just behind Richmond and Chesterfield, which ranked fifth and sixth.

But, fewer than half of those first-time filers (15,427) continued to file claims during the most recent week, according to the VEC. That suggests at least some of them may have returned to work.

Statewide, about 27,000 people filed first-time claims during the most recent week, down about 7 percent from the previous week – and the lowest statewide total since before the pandemic began.

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