Most economists say that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a nonpolitical agency staffed by people obsessed with getting the numbers right. The only political appointee is the commissioner, who doesn’t see the data until it’s finalized, two days before it is issued to the public.

"This implies that the weak gains in payrolls in recent months might have something to do with the supply of labor."

Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Monday after a sharp pullback in the previous session, as markets priced in prospects of deeper rate cuts by the Federal Reserve following a surprisingly soft jobs report.

U.S. stock-market futures advanced Sunday, after Wall Street ended last week with its worst session since April.