RICHMOND—The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) announced today that the number of initial claims rose in the latest filing week to 3,336, their highest level since December of 2021 but still at typical pre-Pandemic volumes experienced in 2019.

For the filing week ending May 6, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 3,336, which was an increase of 602 claimants from the previous week. Over half of initial claims with a self-reported industry were from manufacturing; administrative and support and waste management; professional, scientific, and technical services; and retail trade. Continued weeks claimed totaled 12,769, which was little changed from the previous week but an increase of 70% from the 7,509 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 May 6, the advance U.S. figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 264,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000. This is the highest level for initial claims since October 30, 2021 when it was 264,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 234,084 in the week ending May 6, an increase of 13,969 (or 6.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 185,815 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022. Looking at preliminary data, most U.S. states reported increases on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Massachusetts’s preliminary weekly change (+6,375) was the largest increase. California’s weekly change (+2,924) was the second largest increase. Missouri’s preliminary weekly change (+2,447) was the third largest increase. Texas’s weekly change (+1,471) was the fourth largest increase. Virginia’s preliminary weekly change (+722) was the ninth largest increase.