New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week for the second week in a row, signaling ongoing weakness in the job market as coronavirus infections continue to soar.
The Labor Department reported 778,000 people applied for state benefits in the week ending Saturday, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week.
Another 311,000 people applied for jobless benefits under an emergency federal program for gig workers and the self-employed, who typically are not eligible for unemployment. That number was down slightly from the previous week.
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