Henrico's first-time unemployment claims up 15%

For the fourth straight week, the number of first-time unemployment claims in Henrico continued to hover between 250 and 300, though it was up about 15% to 289 during the week that ended Nov. 7, according to data released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission.

That total was up from 251 the previous week. Henrico hasn’t experienced a week with more than 300 first-time filers or fewer than 191 since mid-August.

The number of continuing claims in Henrico during the most recent reporting week fell to just below 3,400. Those numbers largely have followed a steep decline since mid-September, as the initial wave of pandemic-related filers have exhausted their claim periods.

Statewide, first-time claims were down by 4.3% from the previous week.