Hopes that the third phase of reopening could have turned around a two-week trend of increasing unemployment have not borne out.
New data from the Virginia Employment Commission shows that continued claims — the number of Alexandrians continuing to claim unemployment week after week, has gone up to 6,410 during the week of July 4. This is the highest number of continued claims since the week of June 6.
Alexandria moved into Phase 3 of reopening July 1, in the middle of the latest week of unemployment data.
Initial claims — the first filings for someone seeking unemployment — also went up to 508 claims. This was the highest number of new claims since May and represents a sudden turnaround over the last two weeks after consistent decreases since the peak of new claims in April.
Arlington County saw a similar uptick in initial claims the week of July 4, while Fairfax County saw a similar bump the week before that but the numbers went back down the following week. Fairfax and Arlington both also saw an increase in continued claims the week of July 4.
Graphs by Vernon Miles
