WASHINGTON (AP) — Pay and benefits for America’s workers grew more quickly in the first three months of this year, a trend that could contribute to higher inflation and raise concerns about the future path of price increases at the Federal Reserve. Compensation as measured by the government’s Employment Cost Index rose 1.2% in the January-March quarter, up from a 0.9% increase in the previous quarter, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, compensation growth was 4.2%, the same as the previous quarter. The increase in wages and benefits is good for employees, to be sure, but could add to concerns at the Fed that inflation may remain too high in the coming months. The Fed is expected to keep its key short-term rate unchanged after its latest policy meeting concludes Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other officials have recently backed away from signaling that the Fed will necessarily cut rates this year, after several months of higher-than-expected inflation readings. Big price increases for rents, car insurance and health care have kept inflation stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% inflation target. |
Planning for potential presidential transition underway as Biden administration kicks it offWhy you might have heard Paul Simon’s ‘The Sound of Silence’ at Spanish MassAlec Burleson snaps power drought with a 3Mississippi police were at odds as they searched for missing man, widow saysFour months after being fired by Atlanta, Arthur Smith is hitting the reset button in PittsburghPlanning for potential presidential transition underway as Biden administration kicks it offHaniger hits grand slam in Mariners' 6FEC fines exOrioles send former No. 1 pick Jackson Holliday back to minors after he hit .059 in 10 MLB gamesUN investigators probe 14 Gaza aid staffers Israel had tied to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack