Unemployment numbers released by the Virginia Employment Commission show a continued decline in those renewing their claims for unemployment benefits, but federal data underlines an uneven recovery.
New unemployment claims were down for the week ending July 24th, falling by 126 to 6,178. Continuing claims were down by about 5%, falling 1,599 to 33,603, a marked difference than than the huge spike early in the pandemic. There were 344,826 claims for the same week last year.
Generally unemployment numbers are trending down, although it can be difficult to discern the decline on charts due to the high number of claims early in the pandemic.
Two federal pieces of data underline that the recovery isn't at the same pace everywhere. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the national job growth rate for June was 5.8 percent. Hampton Roads' job growth came close to that figure, at 5.4% But in Richmond growth was much slower - just 3.5 percent.
Certain demographic groups are also disproportionately affected by the job loss during the pandemic. The young, women, and Black Virginians make up more of the unemployment claimants than they do of their share of the population.
The unemployment system during the pandemic has had to pay out millions of dollars, and claimants have had to deal with poor infrastructure and long delays.
Governor Ralph Northam has proposed using almost a billion dollars into the Virginia Employment Commission, mostly to replenish the trust fund that paid out benefits to the unemployed. Advocacy groups have said that money would be better spent on mitigating the effects of joblessness in light of the long delays at the VEC.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
