US records eight-year high wage growth

A report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has revealed that the US saw an eight-year high wage growth during the 12 months ended January 2018, up 2.9% - the highest rate since the recession.

As a whole, the US economy continued to perform strongly during January, adding 200,000 new jobs, up from the 148,000 recorded in December. Further, the 17-year low unemployment rate of 4.1% was maintained for a fourth straight month.

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The further wage gains are likely to be bolstered by the newly lowered corporate taxes, with a number of large US employers such as Wal-Mart, Apple and Starbucks all having committed to offering improved employee benefits, bonuses and pay rises for their staff.

With these things in mind, it seems that average wages may now begin to steadily improve after a prolonged period of stagnation and weakness.

The labour market is continually tightening up, with firms finding it hard to both retain and attract talented staff, suggesting that more significant wage rises are likely to follow throughout 2018.