Richmond, VA — New data from the Department of Labor released today continues to show a strong economic recovery from the pandemic thanks to the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress. With Virginia’s state-level unemployment rate at a new low and two-thirds of Virginia adults receiving a vaccine dose, Democrats’ American Rescue Plan is getting Virginians back to work.
For the seventh week in a row, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped to a new pandemic low. Nationwide, the number of weekly applications for unemployment benefits has fallen by more than half since the beginning of the year.
In Virginia, the state-level unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in April, down from 5.1 percent in March and 11.3 percent in April 2020. In addition, Virginia reported a new pandemic low of daily COVID cases this week, with the total new statewide cases dropping under 100 for the first time since March 2020.
Communities across Virginia are now receiving funding from the American Rescue Plan to help them recover from the pandemic, expand vital programs, and create long-term growth. Meanwhile, Virginia Republicans continue to oppose these vital investments and the Biden administration’s plans to revitalize the commonwealth’s infrastructure and create millions of good-paying jobs, with Glenn Youngkin attacking them as “unnecessary” and “wrong.”
“Week after week, the American Rescue Plan continues to put our commonwealth and country back on track. From direct checks to help Virginians pay the bills, to more vaccines and local aid that will help frontline workers keep their jobs, millions across the commonwealth are seeing the benefits of this economic recovery,” said Democratic Party of Virginia Communications Director Grant Fox. “Glenn Youngkin’s willingness to look Virginians in the eye and say the aid helping them make rent and get back to work is ‘unnecessary’ should tell voters everything they need to know about how extreme and out of touch he is.”
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