Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% from December and 4.1% year over year, outpacing forecasts as well as inflation. Was it just a blip?

The Federal Reserve has wanted cooling inflation coupled with steady employment. It’s gotten that.

An economic concept known as the Baumol effect helps explain wage increases in industries immune to technological change.

The $7.25 federal minimum wage has not changed for more than 15 years, but state and local increases have proved popular with voters.

Workers at the bottom 90% had stronger wage growth than the top 1% in the years since the pandemic, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

There’s good reason to believe productivity will stay strong. When the labor market was tight, employers invested in upgrades.

The job market is still tilted in workers’ favor.

Real wages also grew. To some extent, productivity growth offsets the inflationary effect of pay gains.

Average wage growth has slowed in recent months, though according to the May jobs report, it’s still ahead of inflation.

Wages were running hot two years ago, rising about 6% annually. Things have cooled since then, with April average wages up just under 4%.