Alternative data providers have demonstrated significantly greater accuracy than Wall Street forecasters in predicting the latest U.S. non-farm payroll figures.

LinkUp, which tracks job postings on employer websites, had projected an increase of 165,000 jobs, only slightly below the official figure of 172,000 released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

This stands in stark contrast to the median estimate of 88,000 from a Bloomberg survey of economists, which had a forecast range of 45,000 to 125,000.

Another dataset from workforce data provider Revelio Labs fell at the higher end of the economists' forecast range. The ADP report, which measures private-sector payrolls, showed an increase of 122,000, also close to the Bureau of Labor Statistics figure of 120,000.

The substantial gap between economists' predictions of slowing job growth and Friday's actual data highlights how alternative data sources can reflect and help anticipate shifts in the labor market.