The Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of labor costs in the United States, increases 1.3% in the second quarter of 2022.
“The Fed will continue to grapple with trying to tame inflation without tipping the economy into a recession,” said Dante DeAntonio, an economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “The data on wage and price growth will not do them any favors as upward pressure clearly remains even as the overall economy has weakened.”
The ECI is widely viewed by policymakers and economists as one of the better measures of labor market slack and a predictor of core inflation, as it adjusts for composition and job-quality changes. Data on Thursday, July 28, showing the economy contracted again in the second quarter led economists and investors to believe that the Fed would slow its pace of rate hikes in September.by another three-quarters of a percentage point. It has now hiked that rate by 225 basis points since March.
The advance in wages occurred across all industries, with hefty gains in the traditionally low-paying leisure and hospitality sector as well as retail industries. Private sector wages rose 5.7% from a year ago, also the biggest gain in the series. A slowdown in annual growth in average hourly earnings in the first half of the year had raised expectations of a peak in wage gains. Benefits increased 1.2% in the second quarter and were up 4.8% on a year-on-year basis.
The data was included in the advance gross domestic product report for the second quarter, published on Thursday. The economy contracted at a 0.9% annualized rate last quarter after shrinking at a 1.6% pace in the first quarter. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index shot up 0.6% after climbing 0.3% in May. The so-called core PCE price index increased 4.8% on a year-on-year basis in June after rising 4.7% in May.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
BSP pegs July inflation at 5.6 - 6.4%The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expecting this month’s inflation to further quicken with the upper end of its forecast range seen to exceed last month’s print.
Read more »
Market Edge | ANC (29 July 2022)Here's the full episode of Market Edge, July 29, 2022, only available in the Philippines.For outside the Philippines visit: http://tfc.tvFor more Market Edge...
Read more »
PEMC launches commercial operations in renewable market - BusinessWorld OnlineThe Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) said it opened the renewable energy market (REM) to interim commercial operations on Thursday. READ:
Read more »
Jeepney to BusanThe Philippine embassy participates in the ASEAN Market 2022 at the ASEAN Culture House in South Korea. READ:
Read more »
Hint of a Fed pause opens door to Asia's emerging marketsBellwether markets in South Korea and Indonesia are showing signs that the worst may be over.
Read more »
Sydney Sweeney, 24, on being a sex symbol and why she ‘won’t stop’ doing nude scenesHBO’s White Lotus actress sydney_sweeney is enjoying the fruits of her labor.
Read more »