The second monthly payment of child tax credits reached the households of nearly 61 million children, the Treasury Department said. That is a 2.7% increase from July, indicating that more people are being added to the program than are leaving through taxpayers’ decisions to opt out of the regular payments.

Friday’s payments of up to $300 per child totaled $15.4 billion, and they come as Democrats try to build political momentum to extend the expanded tax credit beyond its scheduled Dec. 31 expiration.

The March coronavirus-relief law expanded the credit in several ways. It raised the amount from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for children ages six to 17 and to $3,600 for those under six. Families with little or no income can now get the full amounts. Previously, those households were limited to getting $1,400 of the $2,000 credit. And it is delivered in the middle of every month instead of as part of the annual tax refund, creating something approaching a...

Vaccination is increasingly a requirement to be hired, as employers ranging from accounting and software firms to schools and restaurants are asking applicants to be inoculated against Covid-19.

The share of job postings stating that a new hire must be vaccinated has nearly doubled in the past month, according to the job search site Indeed. The total number remains low, roughly 1,200 postings requiring a vaccination per million in the first week of August. But that is well up from about 600 in early July, and about 50 per million job postings in early February.

Many of the postings don’t explicitly name Covid-19 as the vaccine required for employment, said Indeed economist AnnElizabeth Konkel, who wrote the report, but broader context of the job descriptions suggested most employers were referring to the coronavirus vaccine, as opposed to other shots. Early this year, before Covid-19 vaccines were widely available in the U.S., very few job postings outside of...

Many coffee drinkers can expect to pay more for their cup of joe at supermarkets and cafe registers, as producers grapple with higher coffee bean prices, constrained supplies and other costs.

Retail brands like Folgers, as well as independent coffee chains, are raising prices or plan to soon, executives said. Starbucks Corp. and Nestlé SA have said they could increase prices, while other coffee sellers try to hold prices steady, aiming to capture more business.

Coffee roasters and cafe operators are responding to poor harvests in major coffee-growing regions and logistics snarls that executives said have constrained bean supplies, delayed shipments and boosted costs. Companies are also raising wages to recruit and retain workers.

The supply chain issues are likely to worsen as a cold snap in Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, is expected to reduce next year’s crop. The price of coffee futures traded on Intercontinental Exchange Inc. markets...

More than seven months after it was launched, the biggest rental assistance program in U.S. history has delivered just a fraction of the promised aid to tenants and landlords struggling with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Since last December, Congress has appropriated a total of $46.6 billion to help tenants who were behind on their rent. As of June 30, just $3 billion had been distributed, though a senior official said the Biden administration hoped at least another $2 billion had been distributed in July.

While the program is overseen by the Treasury, it relies on a patchwork of more than 450 state, county and municipal governments and charitable organizations to distribute aid. The result: months of delays as local governments built new programs from scratch, hired staff and crafted rules for how the money should be distributed, then struggled to process a deluge of applications.

Often, tenants and landlords didn’t know money was available, and...

Two Federal Reserve officials said Wednesday it is time for the central bank to start reversing the easy money policies put in place to support the economy after the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. in March 2020.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said the central bank has made enough progress toward its objectives of boosting growth and employment to end its $120 billion in monthly purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities. The Fed has been purchasing large quantities of assets to provide extra stimulus after cutting its short-term interest rate to near zero, and officials in December pledged to continue those purchases until making “substantial” progress toward economic and labor-market health.

“With the recovery under way, a transition from extraordinary monetary policy accommodation to more neutral settings must follow,” Ms. George said in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics on Wednesday. “Today’s tight economy…certainly...

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WASHINGTON—Hours after the Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget framework, Democratic leaders quickly confronted looming challenges in keeping the party united, as centrist and progressive lawmakers aired rival concerns over the package set to be finalized this fall.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), an influential centrist who has raised objections to previous Democratic bills, expressed alarm over the budget resolution’s price tag Wednesday, shortly after the Senate officially kicked off the process of crafting a package of antipoverty, education, healthcare and climate provisions with a predawn 50-49 party-line vote.

“I have serious concerns about the grave consequences facing West Virginians and every American family if Congress decides to spend another $3.5 trillion,” Mr. Manchin said Wednesday. “Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great...

Two Federal Reserve officials said Wednesday it is time for the central bank to start reversing the easy money policies put in place to support the economy after the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. in March 2020.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said the central bank has made enough progress toward its objectives of boosting growth and employment to end its $120 billion in monthly purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities. The Fed has been purchasing large quantities of assets to provide extra stimulus after cutting its short-term interest rate to near zero, and officials in December pledged to continue those purchases until making “substantial” progress toward economic and labor-market health.

“With the recovery under way, a transition from extraordinary monetary policy accommodation to more neutral settings must follow,” Ms. George said in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics on Wednesday. “Today’s tight economy…certainly...

We are delighted that you'd like to resume your subscription.

You will be charged $ + tax (if applicable) for The Wall Street Journal. You may change your billing preferences at any time in the Customer Center or call Customer Service. You will be notified in advance of any changes in rate or terms. You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service.

Please click confirm to resume now.

WASHINGTON—A divided Supreme Court on Thursday lifted part of New York’s eviction moratorium, saying the state had gone too far in protecting tenants at the expense of landlords.

The high court, in an unsigned written order, blocked a state measure that made it easy for tenants to invoke eviction protections by self-certifying that they were facing financial hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic. Landlords generally couldn’t challenge such certifications.

Before the justices’ intervention, the measure was to expire at the end of August.

The Supreme Court’s order said the New York approach, by denying landlords a hearing to contest the certifications, “violates the Court’s longstanding teaching that ordinarily no man can be a judge in his own case consistent with the Due Process Clause” of the Constitution.

The court said its order did nothing to disturb other New York provisions that allow tenants to invoke eviction protections in court...

The second monthly payment of child tax credits reached the households of nearly 61 million children, the Treasury Department said. That is a 2.7% increase from July, indicating that more people are being added to the program than are leaving through taxpayers’ decisions to opt out of the regular payments.

Friday’s payments of up to $300 per child totaled $15.4 billion, and they come as Democrats try to build political momentum to extend the expanded tax credit beyond its scheduled Dec. 31 expiration.

The March coronavirus-relief law expanded the credit in several ways. It raised the amount from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for children ages six to 17 and to $3,600 for those under six. Families with little or no income can now get the full amounts. Previously, those households were limited to getting $1,400 of the $2,000 credit. And it is delivered in the middle of every month instead of as part of the annual tax refund, creating something approaching a...

The second monthly payment of child tax credits reached the households of nearly 61 million children, the Treasury Department said. That is a 2.7% increase from July, indicating that more people are being added to the program than are leaving through taxpayers’ decisions to opt out of the regular payments.

Friday’s payments of up to $300 per child totaled $15.4 billion, and they come as Democrats try to build political momentum to extend the expanded tax credit beyond its scheduled Dec. 31 expiration.

The March coronavirus-relief law expanded the credit in several ways. It raised the amount from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for children ages six to 17 and to $3,600 for those under six. Families with little or no income can now get the full amounts. Previously, those households were limited to getting $1,400 of the $2,000 credit. And it is delivered in the middle of every month instead of as part of the annual tax refund, creating something approaching a...

WASHINGTON—A group of centrist House Democrats threatened to block a vote on the $3.5 trillion budget framework approved by the Senate this week until a bipartisan infrastructure bill is passed, highlighting the predicament Democratic leaders face trying to keep dueling factions of the party united around both pieces of legislation.

In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Thursday, nine House Democrats said they “will not consider voting for a budget resolution until” the House approves a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed Tuesday in the Senate and it is signed into law.

“With the livelihood of hardworking American families at stake, we simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this once-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package,” the lawmakers wrote.

That position puts them squarely at odds with the timeline mapped out by Mrs. Pelosi, who has repeatedly said she wouldn’t bring the...

They were bored. Or worried about layoffs. Or tired of working hard for a meager raise every year. They got another job offer.

Now they have a secret.

A small, dedicated group of white-collar workers, in industries from tech to banking to insurance, say they have found a way to double their pay: Work two full-time remote jobs, don’t tell anyone and, for the most part, don’t do too much work, either.

Alone in their home offices, they toggle between two laptops. They play “Tetris” with their calendars, trying to dodge endless meetings. Sometimes they log on to two meetings at once. They use paid time off—in some cases, unlimited—to juggle the occasional big project or ramp up at a new gig. Many say they don’t work more than 40 hours a week for both jobs combined. They don’t apologize for taking advantage of a system they feel has taken advantage of them.

“It’s two jobs for one,” says a 29-year-old software engineer who has been working...

WASHINGTON—A federal judge on Friday allowed the Biden administration’s new eviction moratorium to remain in place, saying she didn’t have authority to block it despite her misgivings about the ban’s legality.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington said she was bound by a previous ruling from the appeals court above her that said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention likely possessed the authority to impose an eviction ban in the name of public health.

If there is to be a judicial order blocking the latest eviction ban, it will have to come from a higher court, the judge said.

Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com

Small-business confidence dropped in August to its lowest level since early spring, as the rise in Covid-19 cases due to the highly transmissible Delta variant put a damper on expectations and turned entrepreneurs more cautious.

Thirty-nine percent of small-business owners expect economic conditions in the U.S. to improve in the next 12 months, down from 50% in July and 67% in March, according to a survey of more than 560 small businesses for The Wall Street Journal by Vistage Worldwide Inc., a business coaching and peer advisory firm.

The measure is one part of a broader confidence index that also tracks metrics such as small-business owners’ outlook for their companies and their investment and hiring plans. That overall figure remains positive, but fell to its lowest level since March.

At Wizard Studios, an event production company with 25 employees, bookings jumped in May after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted mask mandates. The...

The second monthly payment of child tax credits reached the households of nearly 61 million children, the Treasury Department said. That is a 2.7% increase from July, indicating that new sign-ups are outpacing taxpayers’ decisions to opt out of the regular payments.

Friday’s payments of up to $300 per child totaled $15.4 billion, and they come as Democrats try to build political momentum to extend the expanded tax credit beyond its scheduled Dec. 31 expiration.

The March coronavirus-relief law expanded the credit in several ways. It raised the amount from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for children ages six to 17 and to $3,600 for those under six. The credit is also fully refundable, which means that low-income families can get the full amounts. And it is delivered in the middle of every month instead of as part of the annual tax refund, creating something approaching a universal child allowance.

A Census Bureau survey released this week found that...

WASHINGTON—Nearly three dozen of the nation’s most influential business groups—representing retailers, chip makers, farmers and others—are calling on the Biden administration to restart negotiations with China and cut tariffs on imports, saying they are a drag on the U.S. economy.

The tariffs on electronics, apparel and other Chinese goods, which are paid by U.S. importers, were kept in place in part to ensure that China fulfills its obligations under its 2020 Phase One trade pact with the U.S.

In a Thursday letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the business groups contend that Beijing had met “important benchmarks and commitments” in the agreement, including opening markets to U.S. financial institutions and reducing some regulatory barriers to U.S. agricultural exports to China.

“A worker-centered trade agenda should account for the costs that U.S. and Chinese tariffs impose on Americans here and at...

WASHINGTON—A group of centrist House Democrats threatened to block a vote on the $3.5 trillion budget framework approved by the Senate this week until a bipartisan infrastructure bill is passed, highlighting the predicament Democratic leaders face trying to keep dueling factions of the party united around both pieces of legislation.

In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Thursday, nine House Democrats said they “will not consider voting for a budget resolution until” the House approves a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed Tuesday in the Senate and it is signed into law.

“With the livelihood of hardworking American families at stake, we simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this once-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package,” the lawmakers wrote.

That position puts them squarely at odds with the timeline mapped out by Mrs. Pelosi, who has repeatedly said she would not bring the...

Available jobs in the U.S. rose to another record high at the end of June, pushing openings above the number of unemployed Americans seeking work, a sign of an unusually tight labor market.

Unfilled job openings rose by 590,000 to a seasonally adjusted 10.1 million in June, the highest level since record-keeping began in 2000, the Labor Department said Monday. The increase was driven by industries such as professional and business services, retail and the accommodation and food services, as pandemic restrictions continued to ease that month and consumers were more willing to dine out and travel.

The June increase in job openings came ahead of an uptick in cases tied to Covid-19’s Delta variant. Private measures of job postings through July showed openings remained elevated, though they began to plateau as hiring improved. The continued high number of openings indicates that the variant, so far, isn’t affecting hiring plans.

The number of job openings in...

Vaccination is increasingly a requirement to be hired, as employers ranging from accounting and software firms to schools and restaurants are asking applicants to be inoculated against Covid-19.

The share of job postings stating that a new hire must be vaccinated have nearly doubled in the past month, according to the job search site Indeed. The total number remains low, roughly 1,200 postings requiring a vaccination per million in the first week of August. But that is well up from about 600 in early July, and about 50 per million job postings in early February.

Many of the postings don’t explicitly name Covid-19 as the vaccine required for employment, said Indeed economist AnnElizabeth Konkel, who wrote the report, but broader context of the job descriptions suggested most employers were referring to the coronavirus vaccine, as opposed to other shots. Early this year, before Covid-19 vaccines were widely available in the U.S., very few job postings outside of...

The metropolitan area competing for the tightest labor market in the nation isn’t a tech hub on the West Coast, or a boomtown in Texas. It is Birmingham, Ala., a southern city with an unemployment rate that is nearly half the national level and similar to Salt Lake City’s.

Birmingham, the most populous metro area in Alabama, had the second-lowest unemployment rate of metropolitan areas with more than one million people in June, according to the Labor Department’s latest rankings. Its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for that month was 3.1%, near its pre-pandemic level of 2.4% in February 2020, and slightly above Salt Lake City’s 2.8% rate for June. Birmingham’s June unemployment rate was lower than other southern cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte and Houston—and compares with July’s national rate of 5.4%.

Economists say the city’s diversified economy, Alabama’s relatively relaxed Covid-19 restrictions and resilient consumer behavior have helped the...

WASHINGTON—The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record in June as the resurgent American economy drove strong demand for foreign-made goods ahead of the Covid-19 Delta-variant surge.

The trade gap in goods and services expanded 6.7% from May to a seasonally adjusted $75.7 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Before the pandemic, the monthly trade deficit had hovered for years between $40 billion and $50 billion.

The trade report is another example of how American consumers and businesses have stepped up spending and investment as the economy has recovered to its pre-Covid-19 size, fueling demand for imports. Purchases from overseas climbed 2.1% in June to $283.4 billion, also a monthly record.

Exports have grown more slowly, reflecting weaker recoveries in some other regions that have made less progress against Covid-19. Exports rose in June by just 0.6% to $207.7 billion.

The trade data, and separate labor-market readings, come as the...