Virginia Works’ Economic Information and Analytics Division, which serves as the Commonwealth’s official source for labor market and workforce data, reported that that 2,653 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending February 14, 2026.
The claims were filed with the Virginia Employment Commission, which administers the Commonwealth’s Unemployment Insurance program. This is 42.2 percent lower than last week’s 4,592 claims and 8.5 percent lower than the comparable week of last year (2,899).
Nearly 83 percent of claimants self-reported an employer which correlates to an associated industry. The top five industries (60 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (361); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (264); Health Care and Social Assistance (261); Retail Trade (214); and Manufacturing (209).
Continued weeks claims (21,841) were 2.6 percent higher than last week (21,291) and were 24.2 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (17,579).
Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an employer which correlates to an associated industry. Based on this reporting, the top five industries (61 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (4,082); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,520); Manufacturing (2,297); Construction (1,734); and Health Care and Social Assistance (1,642).
