Virginia unemployment rate in double digits due to pandemic

By The Associated Press
May 22, 2020 | 4:48 PM

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s unemployment rate shot up into the double digits in April due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it.

That’s according to the Virginia Employment Commission, which issued an analysis Friday that showed the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.6% in April from 3.3% the month before.

Virginia’s rate was lower than the national rate of 14.7%. A federal report says every state and the District of Columbia saw increases in April.

Va. health dept. improves nursing home inspection backlog, reforms sanction criteria for facilities

By Virginia Mercury
August 22, 2026 | 8:37 PM

Stories of neglect in care or unsanitary living situations have plagued several of Virginia’s nursing home facilities in recent years and data backs up a lapse in oversight by state agencies. With reform efforts underway, the Virginia Department of Health officials said they aim to adopt sanction criteria by the end of the year to rein in bad actors and get troubled facilities back on track. As of July, 58% of Virginia’s nursing homes were overdue for inspections and 68 of Virginia’s 289 nursing homes were found to have serious deficiencies, according to ProPublica. Several of the state’s flagged facilities with numerous deficiencies also had high staffing turnover rates. The issue has been salient among various healthcare spaces, including VDH.

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