Virginia finally raises unemployment pay after 13 years of the same old check

New claims now get $52 more weekly

Virginia workers who file new unemployment claims now get a bigger check.

Starting in January 2026, weekly benefits jumped by $52 across the board, the first increase the state has made in over 13 years.

The boost came from HB 1766 and its companion bill SB 1056, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed in April 2025.

The old benefit table had been locked in place since 2012, and workers had been stuck with those same amounts ever since.

Benefits rose at every level

The maximum weekly benefit climbed from $378 to about $430, while the minimum went from $60 to about $112. Every level on the benefit table got the same $52 bump.

For workers collecting the full amount, that adds up to roughly $226 more per month.

How much someone actually gets depends on what they earned during their base period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before filing.

Lawmakers originally approved a bigger raise

The General Assembly first passed a $100-per-week increase, nearly double what ended up in the final law. But Youngkin offered a substitute that cut the raise to $52.

The bill had already gone through a conference committee before landing on the governor’s desk. The House accepted his version with a 63-33 vote, and the Senate followed with a unanimous 40-0 vote.

The smaller increase still marked the first raise since 2012.

Virginia had fallen behind its neighbors

For over a decade, Virginia’s benefit amounts stayed frozen while costs kept climbing.

At $378 per week, the state’s maximum trailed Maryland at about $430, Washington, D.C., at about $438, and even West Virginia at about $424.

The Commission on Unemployment Compensation flagged the gap and recommended new legislation for the 2025 session. That recommendation helped set the stage for HB 1766.

Advocacy groups organized the push

A coalition of worker advocacy groups came together in late 2024 to campaign for reform.

The group included Social Action Linking Together, the National Employment Law Project, the Legal Aid Justice Center, and the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. The Virginia Poverty Law Center later joined the effort.

Advocates argued that the old benefit amounts could not keep up with rising costs of living, leaving workers between jobs struggling to cover basic expenses.

Only new claims get the raise

There is an important catch. The higher amounts only apply to claims filed on or after Jan. 4, 2026.

Workers already collecting benefits under the old table do not get bumped up.

The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) uses a benefit table to figure out each person’s weekly amount. That calculation depends on wages earned during the base period, so the exact benefit varies from person to person.

All claimants now get 26 weeks

The same legislative package also changed how long people can collect benefits. Before, lower-earning workers could qualify for as few as 12 weeks.

Now all eligible claimants get up to 26 weeks, which is the standard in most other states. That part of the law kicked in on July 1, 2025, months before the dollar increase took effect in January.

It was a big deal for workers who previously ran out of time before finding a new job.

A work group will study future raises

The law also created a path for future updates. It requires the Commission on Unemployment Compensation to form a work group that will study whether benefit amounts should adjust every year based on average weekly wages.

The group must include both employee and employer representatives and meet every quarter. It has to wrap up its work by July 1, 2026, and submit a report by Sept. 1, 2026.

The goal is to prevent another 13-year freeze.

Employers fund the system entirely

Virginia’s unemployment benefits come from taxes on employers, not from workers’ paychecks. Nothing gets deducted from anyone’s earnings to pay for the program.

But higher benefit amounts could eventually mean higher unemployment insurance tax rates for businesses. For now, employers do not need to take any immediate steps.

The tax impact will depend on how the system’s costs change over time.

Who qualifies for benefits in Virginia

Not everyone who loses a job can collect. Workers must have lost their position through no fault of their own and earned at least $3,000 in their two highest-paying base period quarters combined.

They also need to be able to work, available for work, and actively job hunting. That means contacting at least two different employers each week.

Benefits count as taxable income at the federal level.

Lawmakers already want another $48 bump

The ink on HB 1766 is barely dry, but legislators are already pushing for more.

In the 2026 session, new bills HB 1320 and SB 759 propose adding another $48 per week, which would bring the maximum to about $478. Both bills include emergency clauses that would speed up the effective date.

Supporters say the $52 increase, while welcome, still leaves Virginia behind where it should be.

How to file a claim

Workers can file online through the VEC’s Customer Self Service portal or call 866-832-2363, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After filing, the VEC sends a Statement of Wages and Potential Entitlement showing the weekly benefit amount.

There is a one-week waiting period before the first payment goes out. After that, workers must file weekly claims and report all income, including gig work.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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