U.S. workers saw their annual wages and benefits rise in the second quarter at the fastest pace in nearly a decade, a sign that the low unemployment rate is forcing employers to raise pay to attract and keep workers.
Pay and benefits for all U.S. workers increased 2.8 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, the most since the third quarter of 2008. Total compensation for private industry workers — which excludes state and local employees — rose 2.9 percent, the best since the second quarter of 2008.
Democrats will hate to admit it, but the job market and economy is booming under President Donald Trump’s leadership!
The unemployment rate is near an 18-year low of 4 percent, leaving employers scrambling to find the workers they need. There are more open jobs than there are unemployed workers, according to government data, for the first time since records began in 2000.
That is a major accomplishment that former President Barack Obama could never pull off.
A separate measure of wages and salaries for private sector workers rose 2.9 percent in the past year, matching March’s gain and the highest in nearly a decade.
The big picture is that wages and compensation is rising due to unemployment deflating.
The last time the unemployment rate was this low, in 2000, hourly pay gains were rising at a roughly 3.5 percent to 4 percent annual rate.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.