Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, a sign of ongoing jobs growth and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic amid record-low claims for jobless aid.

Initial unemployment claims were 210,000 for the week ending May 21, down 8,000 from the week prior, according to the Department of Labor.

While figures have risen and fallen in recent weeks, the number of new claims has fallen dramatically since the peak of the pandemic and currently sit comfortably under the pre-pandemic level of about 225,000.

The four-week average for claims, which smooths out some of the weekly volatility, ticked up from the previous week to 206,750.

The number of Americans collecting unemployment reached historic lows amid a robust job market.

The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending May 14 rose slightly from the previous week, to 1,346,000. Last week that number stood at 1,315,000, the fewest since in more than five decades.

Earlier this month, the government reported America’s employers added 428,000 jobs in April, leaving the unemployment rate at 3.6%, just above the lowest level in a half-century. Hiring gains have been strikingly consistent in the face of the worst inflation in four decades, with employers adding at least 400,000 jobs for 12 straight months.

The Associated Press contributed to this update.