NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — New data from the Virginia Employment Commission shows that about 20% of all initial unemployment claims filed in Virginia in the first week of April were filed by Hampton Roads residents, and the region’s unemployment rate is more than 10%, Old Dominion University researchers say.
That 20% represents 29,961 Hampton Roads residents who filed initial unemployment claims in the first week of April. Across Virginia, 149,758 people filed initial unemployment claims during that same period.
An initial claim is the first claim filed by an employee after they lose their job.
Unemployment claims have reached record-breaking numbers in the United States due to layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic. In March, initial unemployment claims rose to 6.8 million in America. They dropped slightly in the first week of April to 6.6 million, according to the Department of Labor.
Initial unemployment claims increased by 5,904 in Hampton Roads in the first week of April compared to the week prior. Economists at Old Dominion University believe the unemployment rate in Hampton Roads has risen to 10.6% — a sharp increase from the 3% of residents who reported being unemployed in February.
In February, 26,302 people reported being unemployed in Hampton Roads. In the last three weeks, that number has more than doubled with 64,963 residents filing initial claims for unemployment, according to economists at Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy in the Strome College of Business.
“The change in economic conditions is historic and stunning in its speed,” said Professor Robert McNab, director of the Dragas Center. “In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the unemployment rate in Hampton Roads reached 7.8% in February 2010, two years after the financial crisis. Three weeks have almost erased all the gains in employment over the last decade.”
All but one of Hampton Roads’ localities saw unemployment claims rise. In Virginia Beach, claims rose from 7,386 in the last week of March to 8,754 in the first week of April, while claims in Norfolk rose from 3,446 to 4,190 in the same time period. There was also a significant increase in initial claims in Newport News and Chesapeake, ODU economists said.
“One glimmer of good news is that rate of growth in claims slowed from the previous week for all cities and counties,” a news release from ODU said.
ODU economists predict that layoffs will continue to rise throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Many of this week’s layoffs were in manufacturing, transportation and healthcare, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. National data suggests that many layoffs are temporary and a result of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.