Unemployment in Virginia hit a new record this week.
New numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the unemployment rate in Virginia is now 10.6%. That’s the highest level since state unemployment data began back in 1976.
Stephen Haner at the Thomas Jefferson Institute says it could be worse.
“Virginia has a less restrictive shutdown. The governor did not close down industry. The governor did not close down all retailing, and he left construction underway," Haner explains. "So, those are good activities for the economy, and that’s why Virginia’s at 10% while you’re seeing some states at 15 or 20%.”
Laura Goren at the Commonwealth Institute says the previous downturn shows minorities are likely to be hit the hardest.
“And we really see that when we look at the Great Recession, when the unemployment rate for black Virginians soared to 11% and stayed very high even 10 years after the Great Recession, it wasn’t back to where it had been before the recession began,” she says.
A new report from George Mason University shows that the pandemic has already created the same degree of joblessness as the recession did over the course of three quarters a decade ago. But it also points out those unemployment claims are expected to be temporary, indicating a recovery could be on the horizon just as soon as the economy starts moving again.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.