dailycaller
6:01 PM 08/01/2018
Will Racke | Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
[excerpt]
http://dailycaller.com/2018/08/01/american-workers-pay-raise/U.S. workers received their biggest pay increase in nearly a decade over the period from July 2017 to June, according to Labor Department figures released Tuesday.
The department’s employment cost index, which tracks the growth of employee compensation across the economy, rose 2.8 percent in the year to June, the strongest 12-month gain since September 2008. Wages and salaries, which account for about 70 percent of employment costs, also rose 2.8 percent over the same time period.
The wage gains come as the national unemployment rate has fallen to about 4 percent, down from nearly 10 percent at the height of the Great Recession. As the labor market has tightened, business have had to boost salaries and benefits to attract and retain workers. (RELATED: A Record Number Of Small Businesses Are Raising Wages Amid Tight Labor Market)
