RICHMOND—The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) announced today that the number of initial claims edged slightly lower in the latest filing week to 1,920 and remained at levels typically seen over the last twelve months.

For the filing week ending January 28, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 1,920, which is a decrease of 28 claimants from the previous week. Over half of initial claims with a self-reported industry were from administrative and support and waste management; construction, professional, scientific, and technical services; retail trade; and health care and social assistance. Continued weeks claimed totaled 11,624, which was an increase of 253 claims from the previous week and an increase of 56% from the 7,439 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

Eligibility for benefits is determined on a weekly basis, and so not all weekly claims filed result in a benefit payment. This is because the initial claims numbers represent claim applications; claims are then reviewed for eligibility and legitimacy.

In the week ending January 28, the advance U.S. figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was s 183,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 186,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 224,356 in the week ending January 28, a decrease of 872 (or -0.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 257,583 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022. Looking at preliminary data, most U.S. states reported increases on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Georgia’s preliminary weekly change (+1,885) was the largest increase. New York’s weekly change (+1,195) was the second largest increase. Oregon’s preliminary weekly change (+736) was the third largest increase. Wisconsin’s weekly change (+697) was the fourth largest increase. Virginia’s preliminary weekly change (+215) was the 14^th largest decrease.