October 5, 2023
Timothy Aylor
Senior Economist
Economic Information & Analytics Division
LMI@virginiaworks.gov
(804) 786-3976
Virginia Unemployment Insurance Weekly Initial Claims at 1,748; Manufacturing Leading Industry for Claims
~ Seasonally unadjusted weekly initial unemployment insurance claims up from the previous filing week, with continued claims lower over that period ~
RICHMOND—The Department of Workforce Development and Advancement (DWDA) announced today that the number of initial claims increased in the latest filing week to 1,748 and remained at typical pre-Pandemic volumes experienced in 2019.
For the filing week ending September 30, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 1,748, which was an increase of 331 claimants from the previous week. Continued weeks claimed totaled 12,595, which was 235 claims lower than the previous week but an increase of 43.9% from the 8,754 continued claims from the comparable week last year. An industry was reported for ninety-three percent of claimants. Of those, over half (53 percent) of continued claims were from professional, scientific, and technical services (1,908), administrative and support and waste management (1,712), manufacturing (1,465), and health care and social assistance (1,120). 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 September 30, the advance U.S. figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 207,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 204,000 to 205,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs[1], unadjusted, totaled 172,775 in the week ending September 30, a decrease of 2,875 (or -1.6 percent) from the previous week. There were 167,378 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022.
Looking at preliminary data, most U.S. states reported decreases on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Ohio’s preliminary weekly change (-1,629) was the largest decrease. Alabama’s preliminary weekly change (-902) was the second largest decrease. Missouri’s preliminary weekly change (-617) was the third largest decrease. Illinois’s preliminary weekly change (-492) was the fourth largest decrease. Virginia had the fifth largest increase (+318).
[1] Note: Advance claims are not directly comparable to claims reported in prior weeks. Advance claims are reported by the state liable for paying the unemployment compensation, whereas previous weeks reported claims reflect claimants by state of residence. In addition, claims reported as "workshare equivalent" in the previous week are added to the advance claims as a proxy for the current week's "workshare equivalent" activity.
