US initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 in the week ended Aug. 31 to a two-month low of 227,000, the lowest level since early July, the US Department of Labor reported today. The previous week’s level was revised upward by 1,000.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims in the latest week.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average declined by 1,750 in the latest week to 230,000; the previous week’s average was revised upward by 250.

The number of layoffs remained low, helping to allay fears of a deteriorating labor market, Reuters reported.

“There was probably some residual seasonality boosting claims earlier in the summer, and that, like last year’s claims, could decline in late August and into September absent a more serious worsening in the labor market,” Abiel Reinhart, an economist at J.P. Morgan, told Reuters.