By Brandon Martin
The number of local initial and continued unemployment claims largely continued to drop during the filing week ending March 6, according to data from the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC).
After weeks of remaining steady at 52 initial unemployment claims, the number dropped by two in Henry County. Martinsville and Patrick County also saw decreases of four claims each. The total number of initial claims during the week was 45 in Martinsville and 18 in Patrick County.
The figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 13,736. The latest claims figure was an increase of 1,581 claimants from the previous week.
The VEC announced that the number of continued claims filed during the March 6 filing week decreased by 1,729 claims from the previous filing week.
Henry County had a decrease of seven continued claims during the period, finishing the week with 360 total claims.
Patrick County also had a decrease in continued claims, falling from 105 to 97 claims.
Martinsville was the only locality of the three that had an increase during the period. The city had an increase from 198 continued claims to 210.
Statewide, continued weeks claimed totaled 62,269, which was a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous week, but 39,555 higher than the 22,714 continued claims from the comparable week last year. Over half of claims that had a self-reported industry were in the accommodation/food service, retail trade, administrative and waste services, and healthcare/social assistance industries. The continued claims total is mainly comprised of those recent initial claimants who continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nationwide, in the week ending March 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 712,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 9,000 from 745,000 to 754,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 709,458 in the week ending March 6, a decrease of 47,170 (or -6.2 percent) from the previous week. There were 200,382 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. Looking at preliminary data, most states reported decreases on a seasonally unadjusted basis. New York’s preliminary weekly change (-12,968) was the largest decrease among states. Texas’s preliminary weekly change (-11,014) was the second largest decrease. Mississippi’s preliminary weekly change (-10,937) was the third largest decrease. Illinois’s preliminary weekly change (-6,487) was the fourth largest decrease. Virginia’s preliminary weekly change (+7,450) was the second largest increase.
