DATE: March 31, 2008
CONTACT: Joyce G. Fogg, (804) 786-7592

Due to the reduction in federal funds, several Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) offices will be relocating staff and services. These moves will comply with Governor Kaine's plan to co-locate agencies and their services into a one-stop delivery system. This will also increase collaboration between state and local workforce programs while keeping a presence in communities and reducing costs. VEC services will continue to be provided at the new locations.

In an effort to align the VEC's expense structure with its available resources, the following offices will be relocated or co-located to maintain service delivery in localities.

Due to low unemployment rates, staff in the VEC Fairfax office will be relocated to the office at 5520 Cherokee Avenue, Alexandria, located in Fairfax County, and the Prince William office at 13370 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, by May 15.

The Metro Richmond South office, now located at 6705 Warwick Road, will be relocating to the Goodwill of Central Virginia, a One-Stop Center, at 6301 Midlothian Turnpike. This will be occurring during the month of August.

The VEC office in Suffolk will be relocating in Suffolk in order to co-locate services. More information will be forthcoming.

The Buena Vista office, which has the lowest traffic, volume of unemployment insurance claims, and job service registrations in the state, will be closed on November 30. There are three VEC offices located within 50 miles.

In December, 2007, an agency-wide reduction in the VEC's workforce was announced. This initial phase of reductions eliminated 243 staff positions resulting in 157 layoffs, implemented on March 14, 2008. There will be no staff layoffs due to these changes.

The VEC receives no state revenue and is funded entirely by federal program grants from the United States Department of Labor. These funds come from the Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) on employers. In recent years, federal funding for the VEC has declined. Currently, the VEC receives only 27.6 cents for each dollar of FUTA payments made by Virginia employers. This decline in funding, coupled with increasing costs, has made it impossible for the VEC to continue operating at its service delivery levels.

The VEC held public hearings around the state last spring to receive input from the citizens of the Commonwealth. Extensive data has been gathered, including population distribution, customer usage patterns, changes in technology, and customer needs.

Unemployment insurance claims can be filed, and job services registration and searches can be conducted by Internet at www.VaEmploy.Com. Services for employers, such as posting jobs, finding applicants, filing and paying unemployment taxes, filing appeals, and finding valuable labor market information, are also available at this Website.