Mortgages

Among the quarter of American employees still working at home because of the pandemic, a majority were in jobs such as computer science, legal and finance.

“This isn't just an issue for women. It's an issue for families, and it's an issue for the government and economies because it drives GDP,” says Jennifer Reynolds, a former investment banker and CEO of Toronto Finance International.

Chances of further employment and economic gains are diminishing without the widespread stimulus payments and small-business aid that have sustained incomes and spending.

Pinterest canceled a large office lease at a building to be constructed near its San Francisco headquarters, marking one of the most significant moves yet by a big tech company to scale back real estate plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sales and customer-support roles are among those being eliminated, and affects some workers who sell the company’s software aimed at financial-services firms, health and life-science companies and other cloud sales teams.

The coronavirus pandemic, and the accompanying mass shift to doing white-collar work from home, has led to reports of real estate frenzies in scenic places.

Some Silicon Valley startups, hungry for young talent, have presented an alternative to school: a remote internship, aimed specifically at young people looking for alternatives to a dismal school year.

Initial jobless claims in regular state programs fell by 249,000 to 1.19 million in the week ended Aug. 1, Labor Department data showed Thursday.

The White House and Democrats aim to strike a deal on virus-relief legislation by the end of the week 一 even though the two sides remain far apart on some key issues.

The renewed job losses in California might have a preliminary impact in the July U.S. jobs report due Friday 一 and an even bigger effect in August. Analysts are expecting a sharp slowing of job gains, with payrolls projected to have risen 1.5 million in July following 4.8 million in June.