Virginia’s Latest Unemployment Insurance Weekly Initial Claims Down at 3,141; Continued Claims at 18,349

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 3,141 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending March 15, 2025, which is 22.2 percent lower than last week’s 4,036 claims and 65.0 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (1,904).  Nearly 76 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (69 percent) were Manufacturing (475); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (462); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (229); Health Care and Social Assistance (216); and Retail Trade (197).

Continued weeks claims (18,349) were 3.8 percent higher than last week (17,681) and were 17.5 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (15,612). Nearly 91 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (58 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (3,033); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,123); Manufacturing (1,729); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,522); and Construction (1,381).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending March 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 223,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 220,000 to 221,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 206,503 in the week ending March 15, a decrease of 7,502 (or 3.5 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 9,285 (or 4.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 191,772 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024. These are advanced figures that provide a rapid estimate of claims across the country for economic monitoring and do not reflect all claims counted in the Thursday Claims data noted above.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 4,036 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending March 08, 2025, which is 40.1 percent higher than last week’s 2,881 claims and 81.1 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,229).  Nearly 66 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (69 percent) were Manufacturing (619); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (509); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (256); Retail Trade (214); and Health Care and Social Assistance (200).

Continued weeks claims (17,681) were 0.1 percent higher than last week (17,671) and were 13.1 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (15,629). Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (58 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,881); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,074); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,505); Construction (1,482); and Manufacturing (1,463).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

***Due to technical issues, the Virginia map, typically found on page 3, is currently unavailable.***

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending March 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 220,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 221,000 to 222,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 212,817 in the week ending March 8, a decrease of 13,202 (or 5.8 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 10,890 (or 4.8 percent) from the previous week. There were 202,722 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024. 

***The Virginia numbers noted here do not account for 566 claims which are Unemployment Compensation

for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers claims and

transitional claims.***

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims

for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions

in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades

of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND — Virginia Works announced today that 2,881 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending March 01, 2025, which is 16.5 percent higher than last week’s 2,473 claims and 32.5 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,174). Nearly 72 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (60 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (390); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (218); Retail Trade (217); Health Care and Social Assistance (176); and Manufacturing (162).

Continued weeks claims
(17,671) were 2.8 percent lower than last week (18,179) and were 11.7 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (15,827). Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (58 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,822); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,138); Construction (1,576); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,523); and Manufacturing (1,354).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending March 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 242,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 224,689 in the week ending March 1, an increase of 3,833 (or 1.7 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 25,158 (or 11.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 214,424 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.
Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 2,473 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending February 22, 2025, which is 14.7 percent lower than last week’s 2,899 claims and 23.9 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (1,996). Nearly 70 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (61 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (362); Health Care and Social Assistance (183); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (179); Retail Trade (178); and Accommodation and Food Services (135).

Continued weeks claims (18,179) were 3.4 percent higher than last week (17,579) and were 15.5 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (15,736). Nearly 91 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (58 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,725); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,196); Manufacturing (1,610); Construction (1,596); and Health Care and Social Assistance (1,536).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy. The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities. Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending February 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 242,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 219,000 to 220,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 220,541 in the week ending February 22, a decrease of 2,997 (or 1.3 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 22,464 (or 10.0 percent) from the previous week. There were 195,774 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND — Virginia Works announced today that 2,899 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending February 15, 2025, which is 9.5 percent lower than last week’s 3,202 claims and 27.6 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,272). Nearly 74 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (64 percent) were Manufacturing (400); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (378); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (255); Health Care and Social Assistance (181); and Retail Trade (162).

Continued weeks claims
(17,579) were 1.7 percent higher than last week (17,288) and were 11.1 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (15,817). Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (58 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,622); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,181); Construction (1,592); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,535); and Manufacturing (1,382).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending February 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 213,000 to 214,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 222,627 in the week ending February 15, a decrease of 10,118 (or 4.3 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 15,416 (or 6.6 percent) from the previous week. There were 199,337 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 3,202 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending February 08, 2025, which is 22.9 percent higher than last week’s 2,606 claims and 24.5 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,571). Nearly 73 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (61 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (426); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (313); Health Care and Social Assistance (275); Retail Trade (204); and Manufacturing (169).

Continued weeks claims (17,288) were 0.5 percent higher than last week (17,201) and were 11.5 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (15,511). Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (57 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,508); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,159); Construction (1,622); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,444); and Manufacturing (1,397).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending February 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 213,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 219,000 to 220,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 231,006 in the week ending February 8, a decrease of 10,095 (or 4.2 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 1,761 (or 0.7 percent) from the previous week. There were 223,985 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 2,606 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending February 01, 2025, which is 3.3 percent higher than last week’s 2,522 claims and 2.8 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,536). Nearly 80 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (60 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (324); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (252); Health Care and Social Assistance (244); Retail Trade (189); and Construction (169).

Continued weeks claims
(17,201) were virtually unchanged since last week (17,203) and were 14.8 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (14,987). Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (57 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,418); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,124); Construction (1,625); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,433); and Manufacturing (1,389).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending February 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 207,000 to 208,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 239,690 in the week ending February 1, an increase of 11,370 (or 5.0 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 208 (or 0.1 percent) from the previous week. There were 234,729 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

RICHMOND — Virginia Works announced today that 2,522 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending January 25, 2025, which is 11.8 percent lower than last week’s 2,858 claims and 0.7 percent lower than the comparable week of last year (2,541). Nearly 78 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (59 percent) were Construction (241); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (234); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (218); Retail Trade (187); and Health Care and Social Assistance (174).

Continued weeks claims
(17,203) were 0.2 percent higher than last week (17,161) and were 17.9 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (14,586). Nearly 92 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (57 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,359); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,128); Manufacturing (1,529); Construction (1,512); and Health Care and Social Assistance (1,417).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Works

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending January 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 207,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 223,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 227,362 in the week ending January 25, a decrease of 56,963 (or 20.0 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 39,917 (or 14.0 percent) from the previous week. There were 263,919 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 2,858 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending January 18, 2025, which is 16.1 percent lower than last week’s 3,407 claims and 10.9 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,576). Nearly 79 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (59 percent) were Manufacturing (318); Construction (298); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (260); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (255); and Retail Trade (207).

Continued weeks claims (17,161) were 3.8 percent higher than last week (16,539) and were 22.6 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (13,999). Nearly 91 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (57 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,401); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,072); Manufacturing (1,538); Construction (1,425); and Health Care and Social Assistance (1,395).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Employment Commission

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending January 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 223,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 217,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 284,222 in the week ending January 18, a decrease of 68,135 (or 19.3 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 75,722 (or 21.5 percent) from the previous week. There were 249,947 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.

RICHMOND— Virginia Works announced today that 3,407 unemployment insurance weekly initial claims were filed during the week ending January 11, 2025, which is 47.2 percent higher than last week’s 2,314 claims and 18.2 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (2,883). Nearly 71 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (61 percent) were Manufacturing (344); Construction (316); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (272); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (268); and Health Care and Social Assistance (186).

Continued weeks claims (16,539) were 3.5 percent higher than last week (15,983) and were 23.3 percent higher than the comparable week of last year (13,415). Nearly 91 percent of claimants self-reported an associated industry; of those reported, the top five industries (56 percent) were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2,356); Administrative and Support and Waste Management (2,050); Manufacturing (1,462); Health Care and Social Assistance (1,399); and Construction (1,245).

Significant Layoffs and Announcements are available at the following websites:

WARN Notices | Virginia Employment Commission

Announcements | Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Virginia Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits, and are a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator, they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the economy.

The color-coded map below shows the distribution of this week’s continued claims for Virginia’s counties and cities.

Yellow represents low numbers, while progressively darker shades transitioning from yellow to green and dark green signify increasing numbers of continued claims. The legend located at the bottom provides the color spectrum and its corresponding count of continued claims.

Initial Claims for All States

In the week ending January 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 217,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 201,000 to 203,000. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 351,885 in the week ending January 11, an increase of 45,228 (or 14.7 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 22,498 (or 7.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 291,330 initial claims in the comparable week in 2024.

All States Initial Weeks Claimed

An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country.

Below is a color-coded map illustrating the percentage change in initial claims from last week to this week across all states nationwide, derived from the latest U.S Department of Labor Weekly Claims News Release (https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf). Green denotes a reduction in continued claims from last week, thus showing improvement, with progressively darker shades of green signifying greater improvement. Purple denotes an increase in continued claims from last week, thus showing deterioration, with progressively darker shades of purple signifying greater deterioration. Very light green, purple or white indicates minimal change from last week. The legend at the bottom provides the color spectrum along with its corresponding percentage value.