Weekly unemployment insurance claims fell to a two-month low ahead of Friday’s hotly anticipated jobs report, according to data released Thursday. Claims numbered 227,000 for the week ending Aug. 31,

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits slipped last week, but re-employment opportunities for laid-off workers are becoming more scarce, a sign that the unemployment rate probably remained elevated in August.

A step-down in hiring, which pushed the unemployment rate to a near three-year high of 4.3 per cent in July rattled investors and fanned concerns that a recession was stalking the economy