The number of applications for unemployment benefits likely held relatively steady last week, indicating continued challenges for the U.S. economic recovery as coronavirus infections surge around the country.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast that new unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, came in at a seasonally adjusted 710,000 last week, up slightly from the 709,000 filed a week earlier. That level is more than three times higher than the roughly 210,000 typically filed each week in the first two…
