The number of American workers filing for unemployment fell to a pandemic-era low last week, adding to evidence of continued labor market recovery. First-time filings for unemployment insurance, a proxy for layoffs, came in at 348,000 for the week ending Aug. 14, a drop of 29,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 377,000, the Labor Department said in a release (pdf). After surging to a series high of 6.2 million weekly claims in April 2020, initial filings have fallen steadily, aside from several minor upticks, though they remain well above the pre-pandemic weekly average of around 220,000. “Some much needed good news is found in jobless claims with fresh pandemic lows notched both for new and continuing claims,” Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. Continuing claims, which represent the number of people collecting unemployment benefits after earlier making an initial filing, …