US Wage Growth Slows, Signaling Easing Inflationary Pressure
Wage growth for US workers slowed in July 2026. Average hourly earnings for all private-sector nonfarm payroll employees rose by just 2 cents, or 0.1%, month-over-month to US$37.62.
This increase was lower than the 0.3% growth recorded in June. The July figure also fell short of market expectations, which had anticipated a 0.3% monthly rise.
For production and nonsupervisory workers in the private sector, average hourly earnings stood at US$32.40. This figure rose by only 4 cents, indicating that upward wage pressure within this group of workers is beginning to moderate.
On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings rose by 3.2%, a slowdown from the June growth rate (which was revised down to 3.4%). This result also came in below analyst estimates, which had projected the annual increase to remain at 3.4%.
Regarding market impact, weaker wage data could alleviate concerns about wage-driven inflation and dampen expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. This scenario has the potential to weaken the US dollar and provide support for gold. However, the market will continue to closely monitor other labor data—particularly Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) and the unemployment rate—to gauge the direction of future Federal Reserve policy. (asd)*
Source: Newsmaker.id
