A customer walks behind a sign at a Nordstrom store seeking employees, Friday, May 21, 2021, in Coral Gables, Fla. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week to 406,000, a new pandemic low and more evidence that the job market is strengthening as the virus wanes and economy further reopens.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the sixth straight week as the U.S. economy reopens rapidly.

Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 376,000 from 385,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of people signing up for benefits exceeded 900,000 in early January and has fallen more or less steadily ever since. Still, claims are high by historic standards. Before the pandemic brought economic activity to a near-standstill in March 2020, weekly applications were regularly coming in below 220,000.

Nearly 3.5 million people were receiving traditional state unemployment benefits the week of May 29, down by 258,000 from 3.8 million the week before.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that job openings hit a record 9.3 million in April. Layoffs dropped to 1.4 million, the lowest in records dating back to 2000; 4 million quit their jobs in April, another record and a sign that they are confident enough in their prospects to try something new.

“As life normalizes and the service sector continues to gain momentum, we expect initial jobless claims to continue to trend lower,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at the economic and financial consulting firm Maria Fiorini Ramirez.

In May, the U.S. economy generated 559,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.8% from 6.1% in April. Many economists expected to see even faster job growth. The United States is still short 7.6 million jobs from where it stood in February 2020.

But employers are posting vacancies faster than would-be applicants can fill them.

Many states are scheduled to begin dropping the expanded federal benefits this month. Altogether, 15.3 million people were receiving some type of jobless aid the week of May 22; a year earlier, the number exceeded 30 million.

Rob Bondurant, a supervisor at Great Southern Industries, a packaging company, loads up a finishing machine in the Jackson, Miss., facility, Friday, May 28, 2021. The lack of workers has forced some supervisors to assume additional duties. Charita McCarrol, human resources manager at the company, cites the abuse by some people of the $300-a-week federal supplement for people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other programs that offered extended support for the unemployed, with providing a soon to end financial staple. She also cited that for some people, a steady paycheck and benefits like health care, are not enough of an incentive to pass up the expiring benefits. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)