Wage Gains to Stay in Holding Pattern, WTI Shows

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Private sector wage gains are expected to remain in a holding pattern in the coming months, according to the preliminary third-quarter Wage Trend Indicator™ (WTI) released today by Bloomberg BNA, a leading publisher of specialized news and information.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120110/DC33627LOGO )

The forward-looking index edged down slightly in the third quarter to 98.70 (second quarter 1976 = 100) from the second-quarter reading of 98.72. Since the third quarter of 2011, the WTI has fluctuated within a narrow range from 98.47 to 98.75.

"The job market continues to improve very slowly, although employers are still showing a reluctance to add significant numbers of workers to their payrolls," economist Kathryn Kobe, a consultant who maintains and helped develop Bloomberg BNA's WTI database, said.

Kobe said she expects the annual rate of wage gains in the private sector in the coming months to remain at or near the 1.9 percent increase posted in the second quarter, according to the Department of Labor's employment cost index (ECI). The WTI does not forecast the magnitude of wage growth, only the direction.

Over its history, the WTI has predicted a turning point in wage trends six to nine months before the trends are apparent in the ECI. A sustained increase in the WTI forecasts greater pressure to raise private sector wages, while a sustained decline is predictive of a deceleration in the rate of wage increases.

Reflecting mixed economic conditions, three of the WTI's seven components made positive contributions to the preliminary third quarter reading, while three factors were negative and one was neutral.

Contributions of Components

Among the WTI's seven components, the three positive contributors to the preliminary third-quarter reading were job losers as a share of the labor force, the unemployment rate, and average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers, all from DOL. The three negative factors were the share of employers planning to hire production and service workers in the coming months, measured by Bloomberg BNA's quarterly employment outlook survey; industrial production, reported by the Federal Reserve Board; and forecasters' expectations for the rate of inflation, compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The remaining component, the share of employers reporting difficulty in filling professional and technical jobs, also from Bloomberg BNA's employment survey, had a neutral impact on the WTI.

Bloomberg BNA's Wage Trend Indicator™ is designed to serve as a yardstick for employers, analysts, and policymakers to identify turning points in private sector wage patterns. It also provides timely information for business and human resource analysts and executives as they plan for year-to-year changes in compensation costs.

The WTI is released in 12 monthly reports per year showing the preliminary, revised, and final readings for each quarter, based on newly emerging economic data.

More information on the Wage Trend Indicator is available on Bloomberg BNA's WTI home page at http://www.bna.com/wage-trend-indicator-p12884902670/.

The next report of the Wage Trend Indicator™ will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013 (revised third quarter)

Bloomberg BNA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bloomberg, is a leading source of legal, regulatory, and business information for professionals. Its network of more than 2,500 reporters, correspondents, and leading practitioners delivers expert analysis, news, practice tools, and guidance — the information that matters most to professionals.  Bloomberg BNA's authoritative coverage spans the full range of legal practice areas, including tax & accounting, labor & employment, intellectual property, banking & securities, employee benefits, health care, privacy & data security, human resources, and environment, health & safety.

Dr. Joel Popkin, who is acknowledged as one of the country's foremost authorities on the measurement and analysis of wages and prices, developed the WTI for Bloomberg BNA. Formerly an official with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dr. Popkin has been an analyst observing and predicting the U.S. economic outlook for 40 years. Kathryn Kobe, who worked with Popkin in designing the indicator for Bloomberg BNA, is director of price, wage, and productivity analysis at Economic Consulting Services LLC.

To obtain Wage Trend Indicator™ reports by e-mail on a regular basis, contact Jerry Walsh, BNA Research & Custom Solutions, 800-372-1033.

SOURCE Bloomberg BNA

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED