Table of Contents
The number of Henrico residents who filed for unemployment dropped for the third straight week, according to data released today by the Virginia Employment Commission.
A total of nearly 2,600 Henricoans filed during the week of April 19-25; that was down almost 22 percent from the previous week. Overall, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, about 21,500 county residents – roughly 11.5 percent of Henrico’s workforce – have filed for unemployment.
But, almost 6,000 of those who had filed initial claims at some point in recent weeks did not file continuing claims during the most recent week, which may mean they have been hired back after being laid off or have otherwise found employment.
In total, about 16,000 Henrico residents currently are out of work.
Statewide, nearly 72,500 people filed for unemployment during the most recent reporting period, down about 12.4 percent from the previous week’s total.
Job loss in Henrico and statewide peaked during the week of March 29 to April 4, when most localities reported the highest number of residents filing for unemployment. (In Henrico, the total that week was 5,720.) The following week, the number of new filers dropped by one-third.
Henrico had the sixth-most filers during the recent reporting period after having had the fifth-most during the previous week.
