RICHMOND—The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) announced today that the number of initial claims increased in the latest filing week to 1,361, remaining at levels typically seen earlier in the year.

For the filing week ending December 31, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 1,361, which is an increase of 172 claimants from the previous week. Over half of initial claims with a self-reported industry from manufacturing, construction, accommodation and food services, and administrative support and waste management. Continued weeks claimed totaled 9,545, which was an increase of 259 claims from the previous week, but a reduction of 15% from the 11,262 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 December 31, the advance U.S. figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 204,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 225,000 to 223,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 275,552 in the week ending December 31, an increase of 5,703 (or 2.1 percent) from the previous week. There were 315,753 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022. Looking at preliminary data, most U.S. states reported decreases on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Kentucky’s preliminary weekly change (-3,782) was the largest decrease. Texas’s weekly change (-3,428) was the second largest decrease. Illinois’s preliminary weekly change (-3,416) was the third largest decrease. Missouri’s weekly change (-3,234) was the fourth largest decrease. Virginia’s preliminary weekly change (+333) was the 16^th largest increase.