Jobless claims continue sharp rise across region


Unemployment claims surged across Southside Virginia during the first week of April as the spread of the COVID-19 virus forced non-essential companies to close and others to lay off workers due to a sharp slowdown in business.

Initial unemployment claims in Mecklenburg County rose from seven during the week of March 14 to 286 for the week of April 4. It is the last week for which numbers are available.

Halifax County saw a similar jump, with five initial jobless claims for the week ending March 14. That number ballooned to 332 in the week of April 4.

In four weeks, more than 650 people in Mecklenburg County and 720 people in Halifax County have filed new jobless claims.

Brunswick, Charlotte and Lunenburg counties also experienced significant jumps in first time claimants between March 14 and April 4. The total number of new claims filed in Brunswick County during that period was 318. In Charlotte County, the figure was 220. In Lunenburg County it was 159.

Pittsylvania County and the City of Danville were hardest hit on the jobs front, with 1,521 new unemployment claims filed in Pittsylvania and 2,707 in Danville during that same four-week period.

Across Virginia, initial claims filed over the March 21-April 4 period numbered 306,143.

“That equals all of the previous weeks claims from 2018, 2019 and 2020 combined,” according to a statement released by the Virginia Employment Commission on Thursday.

These workers are among the roughly 16 million people nationwide who have applied for unemployment insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stimulus money from the federal government is expected to soften the shock to the local economy to some degree. An unknown number of local businesses have applied for the stimulus funding through either the Paycheck Protection Program or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, each overseen by the Small Business Administration. With restrictions on commerce and business closures looming, the coming weeks are likely to reveal more people facing income and job losses.

Before the pandemic took hold, the local economy was improving following its typical post-December holiday slump.

Between January and February, Mecklenburg County added 33 new jobs to its economy and saw its unemployment rate drop from 4.7 percent to 4.2 percent. Halifax County added 99 jobs as its unemployment rate slid from 4.7 percent in January to 4.3 percent in February. Brunswick County added 33 jobs and its unemployment rate slipped from 5.2 percent down to 4.7 percent.

With the exception of Lunenburg County, which reported a loss of seven jobs from January to February, nearby cities and counties also saw an uptick in new jobs and a downward slide of their jobless rates.

Charlotte County added 41 jobs while its jobless rate fell from 4.1 percent in January to 3.7 percent in February. Pittsylvania added 78 jobs and Danville 46 jobs during that same period, and both Pittsylvania County and Danville’s jobless rate slipped down one-tenth percent. Pittsylvania County went from 3.9 percent in January to 3.8 percent in February and Danville went from 5.6 to 5.5 percent.

While Lunenburg County experienced a job loss, the number of jobless claims also fell, which resulted in a decline in its overall jobless rate from 3.2 percent to 3.1 percent between January and February.

The jobless rate for the United States stood at 3.8 percent in February and in Virginia it was 2.8 percent.

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