Virginia's Unemployment Rate Remains Far Above Pre-COVID Levels

RICHMOND, VA — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that the state's unemployment rate dropped slightly in February but was still 2.7 percentage points above the unemployment rate from a year ago before the COVID-19 pandemic tanked the economy.

Virginia’s unemployment rate was at 5.2 percent in February, down from 5.3 percent in January. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in February was below the national rate of 6.2 percent.

Northam announced the month-to-month drop in the state's unemployment rate a day after U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) complained about the Northam's administration slow processing of unemployment insurance claims.

On Thursday, Warner sent a letter to Northam urging him to accelerate the state’s processing of those claims. "It is my understanding that, following earlier passage of congressional legislation to extend these programs in December, constituents in Virginia faced many delays and communication problems with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC)," Warner wrote in his letter.

More than a year ago, Virginia reported positive jobs growth in February 2020, the sixth consecutive year that the state had reported a net growth in employment for the month. But this February, jobs decreased by 4.8 percent compared to job levels in February 2020.

“The economic impacts of this pandemic continue to challenge workers and businesses in Virginia and across the country,” Northam said Friday in a statement. “Our administration remains committed to providing additional relief to those most in need, helping Virginians return to the workforce, and making targeted investments to build back key sectors of our economy.”

In February, the private sector recorded a loss of 161,600 jobs compared to February 2020, while employment in the public sector lost 35,700 jobs.

The largest year-over-year jobs loss occurred in Virginia’s leisure and hospitality industry, which was down 86,500 jobs, or 20.5 percent, from February 2020 levels. The next largest year-over-year job losses occurred in government, down 35,700 jobs, or 4.8 percent. Local government employment fell by 29,000 jobs and state government employment was down 8,400 jobs, while the federal government added 1,700 jobs. Education and health services experienced the third largest year-over-year loss, posting a decrease of 22,900 jobs, or 4.1 percent.

“Virginia’s February unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, a level last seen during the Great Recession recovery year of 2014, and that should be encouraging,” Virginia Chief Workforce Development Advisor Megan Healy said in a statement.

For the remainder of 2021, the Virginia Employment Commission will continue working to help residents gain employment or enter training programs that match their skills and career goals, “focusing resources to align with the emerging opportunities we are seeing in post-pandemic job market trends,” Healy said.

In his letter to Northam, Warner said he worked with lawmakers in Congress late last year to pass a relief package shortly before Christmas. "Now, several months later, I hope you can agree that for constituents still experiencing delays the lack of pandemic unemployment insurance is unconscionable,” the senator said.