This morning, Congress stalled again in negotiations over another pandemic relief bill. Today is the self-imposed deadline to reach a deal. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans are facing another week of reduced unemployment benefits, after the extra $600 in federal aid expired last week. Another program aimed at helping small businesses, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), expires on Saturday.
New job numbers are out today. The economy added 1.8 million jobs in July, though more than 20 million people have lost jobs since the pandemic began. In California, new research sheds light on those filing for unemployment.