Unemployment Claims Are Up for the Second Week in a Row

The number of Americans filing a first-time unemployment claim rose for the second week in a row. Roughly 1.4 million new unemployment claims came through as lawmakers continued to debate a second COVID-19 relief package whose unemployment boost is perhaps the most controversial component. Under March's CARES Act, workers on unemployment were entitled to an extra $600 a week in benefits -- a provision that was set to expire by July 31, and has, in fact, already expired in practice due to the way states pay unemployment benefits.