Henrico's unemployment rate drops to 5.5%

Henrico’s unemployment rate dropped by more than 1% from September to October, according to data released Dec. 3 by the Virginia Employment Commission and U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The number of Henricoans who were looking for work in October but couldn’t find it was 5.5% – down from 6.6% in September.

The encouraging change occurred because of a combination of more people finding employment – 551 more than in September, to be exact – and fewer actively looking for work. The latter number dropped baby about 1,500 from September, according to the data.

Still, the number of people employed in Henrico in October – 167,334 – was down nearly 13,000 compared with last October. Just fewer than 9,700 Henricoans were unemployed in October, according to the data.

More recently, initial unemployment claims in Henrico County nosedived by more than 50% during the week ending Nov. 28, dropping to their lowest single-week total since before the pandemic began.

A total of just 160 people filed first-time claims in the county, down from the 321 who filed the previous week.

Statewide, the numbers were similar, with first-time filings down by nearly 30% – like Henrico’s, falling to their lowest levels since the week ending March 14.

The number of people filing continuing unemployment claims in Henrico also continued to fall – down to 2,573 from 2,888 the previous week.