The number of Americans seeking first-time unemployment benefits last week decreased by more than 40,000 to 751,000, according to the Labor Department’s Thursday report. A quarterly report from the Commerce Department also showed a 33.1 percent annualized rise in gross domestic product during the months of July, August, and September.

Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson of Stanford University researched how the format of an auction and the bidders’ mindsets affect the winner and final price. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the two Americans the Nobel Memorial Prize for economics on Monday. The men will split an award of more than $1 million.

WASHINGTON—Economists expect an impressive rebound after a depressing second quarter. A U.S. Commerce Department report released on Wednesday showed the gross domestic product fell by 31.4 percent in April, May, and June while lockdowns from the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed many businesses. That’s the steepest drop in the report’s history—three times greater than the second-worst decline.

WASHINGTON—Some 884,000 Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, and more than 13 million Americans are receiving unemployment checks, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s report released on Thursday. The job posting site Indeed said the number of open positions did not increase over the past week. Weekly unemployment applications have fallen significantly from nearly 7 million as the pandemic broke out in late March, but they remain higher than at any point during the 2008-2009 recession.

WASHINGTON—U.S. employers added 1.4 million new jobs last month, restoring half the number of positions lost since the beginning of coronavirus-related lockdowns in March. The unemployment rate has finally dipped below the recession rates of 2008-2009, reaching 8.4 percent in August, according to the monthly U.S. Department of Labor report released Friday. Manufacturers have almost returned to pre-pandemic levels of factory ordering, and home sales are on the rise. But some industries, such as restaurants and airlines, have not yet recovered from their precipitous collapse.

Experts predicted millions of Americans could lose their homes as coronavirus-related eviction moratoriums began expiring in July. In early August, President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing federal health officials to consider ways to stop the evictions. And on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blocked landlords from kicking out certain renters who couldn’t make payments.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve usually raises interest rates when inflation climbs over 2 percent. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced Thursday that the central bank of the United States is changing that and will keep rates near zero even if inflation goes up, making household and business borrowing easier. Powell said the reduced interest has helped low- and moderate-income families during the coronavirus pandemic: “The robust job market was delivering life-changing gains for many individuals, families, and communities.”