RICHMOND—The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) announced today that the number of initial claims climbed higher in the latest filing week to 3,460 and sixteen percent higher than the comparable week in 2022.

For the filing week ending August 12, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 3,460, which was an increase of 940 claimants from the previous week. Continued weeks claimed totaled 13,710, which was 32 claims higher than the previous week and an increase of 9.7% from the 12,499 continued claims from the comparable week last year. Ninety-three percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry, of those reported over half (57 percent) of continued claims were from professional, scientific, and technical services (1,970), administrative and support and waste management (1,874), health care and social assistance (1,308), manufacturing (1,161), and accommodation and food services (1,002). 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 August 12, the advance U.S. figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was s 239,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 248,000 to 250,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs[1], unadjusted, totaled 212,850 in the week ending August 12, a decrease of 15,067 (or -6.6 percent) from the previous week. There were 187,391 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022. Looking at preliminary data, most U.S. states reported decreases on a seasonally unadjusted basis. California’s preliminary weekly change (-3,519) was the largest decrease. Texas’s preliminary weekly change (-1,768) was the second largest decrease. Pennsylvania’s preliminary weekly change (-1,254) was the third largest decrease. Michigan’s preliminary weekly change (-1,102) was the fourth largest decrease. Virginia’s preliminary weekly change (+1,055) was the largest increase.