Economics

Economists Have Biggest Miss Ever in U.S. Jobs-Report Shocker

Elevated jobless claims played big role in payroll projection
Forecasters ‘have to remain humble,’ says one economist

U.S. Unexpectedly Adds 2.5 Million Jobs in May

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By Vince Golle, Katia Dmitrieva, Reade Pickert, and Steve Matthews

June 5, 2020 at 5:32 PM UTC

Updated on

June 5, 2020 at 7:39 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

How did economists bungle this one so badly?

The monthly U.S. jobs report can often surprise relative to projections, but forecasts have never been so spectacularly wrong as they were for May’s data out Friday, raising the question of why this miss was so wide.