The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed jobless rolls shrunk to levels last seen in early June.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in four months last week.

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,