WASHINGTON (AP) – Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose 0.7% in the first three months of the year, a modest gain that matched the previous quarter’s increase.
The data suggests that growth in workers’ compensation has stalled in recent months. In the first quarter, wages and benefits increased 2.8% compared with a year earlier. That’s down slightly from a 2.9% gain in 2018. Still, workers’ compensation has picked up slowly. Five years ago, quarterly gains were closer to 0.4%.
The job market is very tight, with the unemployment rate at 3.8%, near a 50-year low, and there are more open jobs than unemployed workers. That has pushed up wages over time, though the gains aren’t as healthy as they were the last time the jobless rate was this low.
