Economics
Low U.S. Jobless Rate May Tempt Fed to Rethink Wage-Gain Trigger
- Fed could lower its 4.7% estimate of ideal unemployment level
- Some economists counsel patience, citing ample wage increases
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The U.S. jobs report on Friday provided Federal Reserve officials with a surprise. Unemployment in March had already declined to the level they’d expected it to hit by the end of 2017.
That combined with what some economists viewed as another head-scratcher. Even as unemployment fell to 4.5 percent, its lowest level in almost 10 years, wages remained on just a gentle upward path. Average hourly earnings rose 2.7 percent year-on-year, essentially the same as the average over the previous 12 months.