NORFOLK, Va. — More than 61,000 people filed unemployment claims in Virginia last week, per Department of Labor data - a decrease in claim volume for the fourth straight week.
However, the unemployment rate continues to rise past 15 percent as about 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the economic crisis began in mid-March.
Hundreds of thousands of Virginians are now receiving unemployment benefits, including many self-employed workers and independent contractors who received their first checks this week.
Yet, there are groups of Virginians still in the dark about unemployment assistance, including workers seeking extensions for recently-exhausted benefits.
“Day after day, it really gets trying to have to wait only to be told the same thing you were told a week or two weeks ago," said Claire Coddington, an unemployed counselor.
Meanwhile, experts say the unemployment claims numbers don’t illustrate the entire scope of the jobless crisis, as many other laid-off workers haven’t filed for benefits, and others report reduced hours and pay cuts.