While the downward revision of May and June payroll growth by 258,000 marked the largest two-month downward revision to the jobs numbers since 1968, revisions themselves are not uncommon. Revisions are "a feature, not a bug" of the agency's reporting process, Erica Groshen, former BLS commissioner under the Obama administration told CBS MoneyWatch.

Jobs growth was slower than expected as the unemployment rate rose in July, leading to the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.