The number of Americans newly seeking jobless benefits edged lower again last week, reaching a new pandemic-era low amid the historically tight labor market, the feds said Thursday.

As of last week, initial filings for unemployment benefits, seen as a proxy for layoffs, fell to 290,000, down 6,000 from the prior week’s revised level of 296,000, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected to see new claims edge up to 300,000 after seeing two consecutive weeks of surprisingly large decreases.

Still, economists say the labor market has a long way to go before reaching normalcy after national reads on employment for the last two months showed less-than-expected gains in new jobs.

Thursday’s drop in claims comes after a separate report last week from the feds showed American workers are quitting at record rates.