Despite Steady Job Gains, There's Still No Clear Sign of a Pickup in Wages
July marked the first time since 1997 that employers have added 200,000 or more jobs for six consecutive months, but the increased demand for labor doesn't yet seem to be translating into bigger wage gains for workers.</br></br>On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the economy added 209,000 jobs last month and that the jobless rate ticked up to 6.2% in July from 6.1% in June, though that was partly the result of more people returning to the labor market as conditions improve. The rate is down from 7.3% a year ago.</br></br>The same report showed annual average earnings rose 2% in July, a rate that barely keeps purchasing power ahead of inflation and which has varied little since the recession ended more than five years ago.</br></br>A separate gauge of employee compensation, the Labor Department's employment-cost index, rose in the second quarter. Data released Thursday showed this broad measure of pay and benefits rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% from April through June, its fastest rate of increase since late 2008.</br></br>Some economists treated Thursday's report with caution, noting the data could include some payback from an unusually weak reading in the first quarter, when the index rose 0.3%. Compared with the same period last year, the index rose 2% in the second quarter, in line with its recent trend.