[Free Beacon] Wages and salaries rose 0.9 percent in the third quarter, beating expectations and bringing the yearly increase in wages and salaries to 3.1 percent, the largest increase in a decade. The 9.9 percent increase beat the expectation of 0.5 percent.
The unemployment rate is also at 3.7 percent, the lowest it has been since 1969, CNBC reports. Employment costs rose by 0.8 percent in the third quarter, slightly ahead of economists' estimates, possibly signaling more inflation.
"The employment cost index data adds to the broader evidence that wage growth has continued to trend gradually higher over recent quarters," said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. "And with labor market conditions still tightening, we expect wage growth will accelerate further from here."
Although slow pay growth has been limited during the current recovery, employers now appear to be raising wages to a more typical level for a good economy. With unemployment low and more job openings than unemployed Americans, employers have to compete for workers. |