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Nearly 12,000 people in Henrico County have filed for unemployment since the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest nearly a month ago – almost half of them last week alone, according to data released today by the Virginia Employment Commission.
Nearly 5,600 Henricoans filed for unemployment between March 29 and April 4, increasing the total number of filings between March 15 and April 4 to 11,827. Data for the current week will be released next Thursday.
Henrico ranked sixth in the state in the number of residents who filed for unemployment last week; Fairfax, with more than 21,000, was first, followed by Prince William, Virginia Beach, Loudoun and Chesterfield, where 5,720 residents filed.
Henrico is seventh overall in terms of number of filers during the three-week period, trailing the other five localities and Richmond.
Henrico began the year second in the state in total number of jobs, with 193,000 – trailing only Fairfax County, which had more than three times as many. Both localities have lost about six percent of their workforces during the past three weeks.
