Alexandria’s unemployment figures continue to trend downward with initial and continued claims, according to data from the Virginia Unemployment Commission.
For the week of September 19, the city has 3,503 continued claims, down significantly from 4,036 continued claims between September 6 and September 12. There were also 4,650 continued claims for unemployment for the week ending on August 22 and 4,650 continued claims for the week ending on August 15.
There were also 137 initial claims for the week ending September 19, which is an increase of nine claims over the previous week. Alexandria is one of 55 localities in Virginia that saw new claims during that period. That’s a far cry from the worst of the pandemic, which saw more than 10,000 initial claims in March and April.
Statewide, unemployment rose 1.8% in August to 6.1%, which is 3.4% over August 2019.
According to VEC:
Compared to a year ago, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ten out of eleven major industry divisions experienced employment declines, with some experiencing more severe losses than others.
The largest over-the-year job loss occurred in leisure and hospitality, down 83,000 jobs (-20.3%). The next largest over-the-year job loss occurred in education and health services, down 36,800 jobs (-6.6%). Professional and business services experienced the third largest over-the-year job loss of 33,400 jobs (-4.3%). Government employment declined by 16,800 (-2.3%). Within government, there were decreases in local government employment (-13,700 jobs) and state government employment (-11,500 jobs). Federal government experienced an increase in employment (+8,400 jobs). Manufacturing lost 16,200 jobs (-6.7%) while trade and transportation shed 14,200 jobs (-2.2%). Other losses were in miscellaneous services, down 9,000 jobs (-4.4%); finance, down 4,900 jobs (-2.3%); information, down 1,900 jobs (-2.8%); and mining down 800 jobs (-10.3%). The sole increase occurred in construction, up 4,400 jobs (+2.2%).
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