The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were 339,000 jobs created in May, which was much larger than estimates. Job growth in March and April was also revised higher, adding 93,000 additional jobs in those months combined. The unemployment rate rose from 3.4% to 3.7%.

What’s the bottom line? There are two reports within the Jobs Report and there is a fundamental difference between them. The Business Survey is where the headline job number comes from, and it's based predominately on modeling and estimations. The Household Survey, where the Unemployment Rate comes from, is derived by calling households to see if they are employed, so it’s a bit more real-time.

The Household Survey has its own job creation component, and it showed that there were 310,000 job losses, which is a stark contrast to the headline job growth number.

In addition, one of the biggest reasons we saw job gains in the Business Survey was the birth/death model, where the BLS estimates hiring from new business creation relative to closed businesses. The problem with this modeling is it overestimates during the inflection point of a downturn (like we’re in right now) and underestimates at the inflection of an upturn after a recession.

In May, this modeling added 231,000 jobs but it’s hard to believe that many businesses were created last month in the current economic climate where there is less lending from banks.