Virginia employment commission: trust fund stronger than 2019 peak; solvency metric still affected by pandemic years

The Virginia Employment Commission's Unemployment Insurance trust fund has a current raw balance of about $1.56 billion, higher than its pre-pandemic 2019 peak, Commissioner Mitch Mellis told the Unemployment Insurance Subcommittee on public testimony day.

Mellis, the commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission, said the fund's balance and related metrics show long-term strengthening even as the statutory solvency percentage remains low because the calculation still includes the very large COVID-era payouts. "The trust fund's raw balance of $1,600,000,000 is really a very much indicator of the strength of the trust fund's health. It's a very positive indicator," Mellis said.

Why it matters: the trust fund balance affects employer tax rates and the state's fiscal readiness for a rise in unemployment; the statutory solvency percentage guides policy but currently reflects pandemic-era anomalies.

Mellis presented several data points to the subcommittee chaired by Senator Adam Evan. He said initial claim volumes have returned to pre-pandemic levels — roughly 130,000 to 140,000 initial claims annually after a peak of more than 1,000,000 claims in 2020…