778,000 More Americans Filed , First-Time Unemployment , Claims Last Week.br The Labor Department released br the latest figures on Wednesday.br First-time claims have risen br for the second week in a row.br The amount of claims was also more than the 735,000 economists were expecting.br Continued jobless claims were down br from the previous week at 6.1 million.br As of Nov. 7, 4.5 million more people br have received Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.br leaving over 20.4 million Americans br still dependent on some form of unemployment benefits. .br It is quite clear that the intensification of the pandemic, the pullback by the public and government mandated lockdowns are clearly combining to cause an increase in first time claims, Thomas Simons, money market economist with Jefferies, br via CNN Business.