RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Virginia’s state budget hasn’t been as bad as previously feared.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that Virginia ended fiscal 2020 with a $236.5 million budget shortfall, far less than anticipated. Overall, state revenues were up 2% from the previous fiscal year.

Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne said Virginia’s high concentration of federal employees and contractors, as well as workers who can telecommute, have helped soften the financial impact.

Layne said it’s still too early to tell whether the state will be able afford teacher raises and college tuition freezes lawmakers approved earlier this year but then suspended because of the pandemic.

Payments now going out from delayed unemployment program

Initial payments have begun to laid-off workers under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which Virginia lagged most other states in getting up and running.

The program provides up to an additional 13 weeks of regular unemployment insurance to individuals who have already exhausted their benefits.

The Virginia Employment Commission announced Thursday that payments started Tuesday. Over 12,000 claims have been paid so far to the total of about 41,000 individuals eligible.

The Associated Press has previously reported that Virginia was behind most states in implementing the federally funded benefits.