First-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped significantly in Virginia last week, following the national trend, though new filings rose in both D.C. and Maryland.
Nationwide, 576,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ending April 10. That is the lowest weekly total since the pandemic began more than a year ago, down 193,000 compared to the previous week.
On an unadjusted basis, excluding season factors, initial claims nationwide totaled 612,919 last week.
The number of Americans getting standard unemployment benefits as of April 3 was 3.7 million, also a pandemic low. The U.S. Labor Department’s tally of continuing claims lags its initial claims data by one week.
In Virginia, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits totaled 5,407 — more than 23,000 fewer than the previous week. New claims in D.C. rose by about 800. Initial claims in Maryland rose by about 300.
Below are the initial claims for unemployment benefits, unadjusted, for Maryland, Virginia and D.C. during the week ending April 10:
District of Columbia:
- Week ending April 10: 3,621
- Week ending April 3: 2,829
Maryland:
- Week ending April 10: 8,415
- Week ending April 3: 8,142
Virginia:
- Week ending April 10: 5,407
- Week ending April 3: 28,526
The Department of Labor lists initial jobless claims by state online.