Hampton Roads unemployment filings begin to slow in fourth week of COVID-19 crisis

Posted: Apr 16, 2020 / 11:46 PM MDT

Updated: Apr 17, 2020 / 12:16 AM MDT

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Initial unemployment filings have slowed in Hampton Roads in the fourth week of the coronavirus pandemic, experts say.

Last week, 20,639 people filed initial claims for unemployment in Hampton Roads. This means 9,322 fewer claims were filed in the second week of April than in the first, according to economists at Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

An initial claim is the first one filed by a person after they lose their job.

“The pace of layoffs may have slowed in the region, but we continue to forecast that unemployment likely be above 10% by the end of April for Hampton Roads,” said Robert McNab, director of the Dragas Center.

More than 85,000 Hampton Roads residents have filed initial claims for unemployment in the last month. ODU economists predict that the unemployment rate in Hampton Roads has exceeded 7% and may approach 13% by the end of April. In February, the unemployment rate in Hampton Roads was 3%, according to ODU economists.

Although initial unemployment filings have decreased across Hampton Roads, ODU economists believe that all of the gains made in employment over the last 10 years have been lost as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

“If layoffs continue near the current pace, we project double-digit unemployment rates in more than half of cities and counties within the Hampton Roads region by the end of April,” said Dominique Johnson, research associate at the Dragas Center.