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Yellen Says Tentative Signs of Wage Growth ‘Not Yet Definitive’

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 2015. — Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 2015.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

By

Steve Matthews and Jeff Kearns

June 17, 2015, 7:18 PM UTC

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she is encouraged by tentative signs that wage growth is picking up, but these are “not yet definitive.”

“We have seen an increase in the growth rate of the employment-cost index, and the growth of average hourly earnings,” Yellen said at a press conference Wednesday in Washington following a meeting of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee. “I would call these tentative signs of stronger wage growth. I think it is not yet definitive, but that’s a hopeful sign.”