Virginia Employment Commission

Virginia Employment Commission, a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering unemployment insurance administration, workforce development services, and labor market data collection to the Department of Labor and related agencies. VEC is not a federal contractor and does not hold federal contract vehicles; its federal footprint is entirely grant-based, with 184 of 186 awards (99%) held as prime recipient status and two sub-awards routed through the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.

VEC's customer concentration is heavily anchored to the Department of Labor. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) accounts for 115 awards carrying $550 thousand combined potential value and represents 62% of the total award count, followed by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (17 awards) and Veterans Employment and Training Service (10 awards). The Department of the Treasury's Internal Revenue Service holds 20 awards valued at $17 thousand. This concentration reflects VEC's statutory role as Virginia's state workforce agency.

The grant portfolio spans multiple federal workforce programs, all administered through the Employment and Training Administration with recurring formula-grant and project-grant structures. VEC holds recurring recipients for Unemployment Insurance administration (CFDA 17.225), a $35.13 million formula grant effective through December 2028 for core administrative infrastructure including claims processing, eligibility determinations, and claimant information systems. Additional significant grants include Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) programs, Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program. VEC also operates labor market information collection and dissemination under cooperative agreements with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (CFDA 17.002), providing employment, unemployment, wage, and occupational employment data to federal and state policymakers. The agency does not plan to subaward funds under most grants, with the exception of specified RESEA and Employment Service activities that may partner with local workforce service providers.

VEC holds a minor federal contract footprint: a single $3,900 firm-fixed-price definitive contract with the Department of Agriculture's Washington Office for Virginia military family housing wage match services, completed March 31, 2025. That contract represents VEC's documented contract work; prior similar engagements include employment and wage verification for USDA Rural Development and U.S. Attorney's Offices.

Activity shows a stable grant administration pattern of 8 to 12 awards per year from 2021 through 2024, declining to four awards in 2025. Four awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The combined potential value across all 186 awards totals $56 thousand, with combined dollars obligated reaching $2.18 billion—a ratio reflecting VEC's role as a pass-through administrator of federal unemployment benefit programs and workforce services rather than a direct service vendor. VEC's federal engagement is entirely within the statutory structure of state workforce system administration; the organization does not compete for contracts or pursue commercial federal business opportunities.