The overall index eased to 0.9% in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 1.1% in the previous quarter. … READ MORE >
Employment Cost Index
Fed’s key wage inflation metric tops forecast
The employment cost index for the third quarter showed that labor costs rose 1.1% higher than the forecast of 1.0% and were higher than the pre-pandemic average of 0.6%. … READ MORE >
Fed’s key wage gauge falls to lowest level since June 2021
The Employment Cost Index—the Federal Reserve’s closely watched metric on wage growth—increased by 1.0% in the second quarter, the slowest since June 2021. … READ MORE >
Labor costs slow, setting the stage for smaller Fed rate hike
The index showed that labor cost growth fell to 1.0% on a quarterly basis, and to 5.1% on a year-ago basis for all workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index released on Tuesday. … READ MORE >
U.S. retail sales and producer inflation fall as spending weakens
Retail sales and producer inflation data came in lower than expected in December, giving the Federal Reserve more reasons to begin to slow down its rate hikes. … READ MORE >
Acceleration of wage increases raises caution flag for policymakers
The wage component of the index has now accelerated from a 2.5% rate of increase in the third quarter of 2020 to 4.2% a year later and, most recently, to 4.5% in the fourth quarter last year on an annualized basis. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Wages grew fastest in 20 years
The tight labor market sent worker compensation growth in the third quarter to the highest level in 20 years, posting a 1.3% gain. … READ MORE >