Economists Caught Off Guard By A Weak Jobs Report

03:42

June 03, 2016

Hundreds of Verizon workers strike outside of the telecommunications company's Brooklyn offices on April 13, 2016 in New York City. Some officials are blaming the strike in part for weaker than anticipated job gains in May. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Labor Department reported today that the U.S. economy added only 38,000 jobs in May, far lower than most economists predicted.

While unemployment dropped to 4.7 percent, its lowest rate since November 2007, that's largely due to more people giving up the search for work. Wall Street opened lower at news of the smallest monthly addition of jobs in almost six years.

Mike Regan, Bloomberg Gadfly columnist, joins Here & Now's Meghna Chakrabarti for a closer look at the lackluster jobs numbers and what they mean for the U.S. economy.

Guest

Mike Regan, Bloomberg Gadfly columnist, covering equities and financial services. He tweets @Reganonymous.

This segment aired on June 3, 2016.