(CNN) — In what could be the last piece of federal jobs data released this week if the government shuts down, a new report Tuesday showed that the number of available roles remain low for the year, a sign that opportunities continue to dwindle for Americans looking for work.

Tuesday’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that the number of available jobs increased slightly to 7.23 million at the end of August from an upwardly revised 7.21 million. The monthly report carries added weight this week and comes at a precarious time for the economy: If the federal government does shut down, the release of crucial labor market data such as Friday’s jobs report, could be delayed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics and other statistical agencies are expected to have a skeleton crew and delay the gathering, analysis and release of economic data if government funding lapses.

The already crucial monthly employment snapshot has become even more important. Recent months’ data has shown the “low-fire, low-hire” environment to be even more anemic than previously thought, stoking concerns that the labor market is cracking.

That spurred the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates earlier this month, and the September jobs report is “arguably the most important piece of information” for policymakers when they meet in October, Bank of America economists wrote earlier this week.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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