LYNCHBURG, Va. – As hiring opportunities increase, fewer Central Virginians are filing unemployment claims.
The Career Works Lynchburg Center says they’re seeing about 1,500 people filing on a weekly basis.
That’s a major drop compared to this time last year when unemployment in Central Virginia peaked at around 10,000 people.
“In the Lynchburg area, we have somewhere between 117,000 to 120,000 people in our workforce, and only 1,400 to 1,500 are filing unemployment claims on a weekly basis. So, that’s just a tiny number compared to the overall workforce,” said Tim Saunders, business engagement and outreach coordinator for Virginia Career Works Lynchburg Center.
Saunders says the workforce shrunk due to some people taking care of sick loved ones or safety concerns over COVID-19.