This story was reported and written by VPM News.
An internal, unofficial measure the Virginia Employment Commission uses indicates that unemployment claims from applicants listing a federal employer has increased dramatically.
In the first two weeks since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, about 1,250 initial claims for unemployment listed a federal employer, VEC Commissioner Mitch Melis told the Commission on Unemployment Compensation Monday.
It is very possible these numbers are higher than the actual number of affected employees: Claims for Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees are not identified as such until their federal wages are verified, and this number includes anyone that listed a federal agency, branch, federally-owned corporation or other government-funded entity as their employer.
These claims also increased week over week: Approximately 550 of the claims are from Oct. 1–7, and 700 from Oct. 8–15. This contrasts with roughly 65 of these types of claims before October 2025, and 40 from the same week last year.
Melis told VPM News that there were 190 continued claims for the week ending Oct. 11. The count of official UCFE claims, Melis said, was a meaningful measure since it captures verified claims by former federal workers who are still unemployed.
While UCFE claims do not include a separation reason, they may include people who are furloughed due to the government shutdown — or recently claimed unemployment due to the well-known deferred resignation program colloquially known as the "fork."
VEC's internal analysis said that over 900 of the 1,250 claims were tied to a furlough. Melis said on Monday the commission didn't know what sort of separation reason there was for the other 350-odd claims.
"These are just leading indicators," Melis told VPM News. "We look at the individuals who self-selected lack of work, and those individuals typically are going to be furloughed."
Virginia's commission has guidance for federal workers who are furloughed and seeking unemployment. Those that receive back pay, as required by federal law, will ultimately have to pay back the wages.
Since February, VEC saw 7,784 applications for unemployment from the 500 government contractors with the highest dollar value of awarded federal contracts. Those don't necessarily represent the impact of specific federal policies or the shutdown.
State employees are also beginning to be affected by the shutdown.
State Finance Secretary Stephen Cummings briefed the Virginia Senate Finance Committee on the topic in a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Thirteen Virginia Works employees were furloughed Wednesday because of the federal shutdown, Cummings said, and just under 7,000 state employees have their pay supported by federal money across roughly 70 state-level agencies.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Glenn Youngkin said his administration has been working to "ensure everything at the state-level continues to operate smoothly."
Virginia Labor Secretary Bryan Slater told VPM News that the shutdown could affect some commonwealth operations if the closure drags on.
"The one thing that we're watching, obviously, is long-term finances and money," he told VPM News. "VEC is federally funded. Virginia Works is federally funded. [The] Department of Labor and Industry gets money from the federal government. And they're all okay, right now. If it continues to go on, that's an issue that could pop up a month or two down the road."
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