Virginia Unemployment Drops to 3.4 Percent

Virginia’s unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points in November, which brings it to 3.4%, according to numbers recently released by the Virginia Employment Commission.

Over the last year and a half, unemployment has been steadily decreasing in the state, dropping at least 0.1 percentage points every month in the last year and a half. The lower unemployment trend coincides with the government rescinding COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, which had initially caused a massive spike in unemployment.

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Judge Grants Virginia Employment Commission Brief Extension to Respond to Class-Action Lawsuit over Slow Unemployment Claims Processing

Virginia is trailing the rest of the United States in processing certain unemployment claims. That’s led to a class-action lawsuit against the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), filed in April. VEC Commissioner Ellen Hess asked for an extension until the end of May to respond to the lawsuit, but on Wednesday, a district judge ruled that the VEC could only have a four-day extension from May 7 until May 11.

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Virginia Government Asking Citizens to Repay Thousands in Pandemic Unemployment Claims

Virginians are reporting letters from the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) asking for repayment of unemployment claims due to VEC error.
The government hasn’t made any exceptions for the VEC’s errors resulting in overpayments – even with the mandatory shutdowns throughout this pandemic.

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