PayScale Index Q3 2019: Mild Wage Growth Across U.S. Despite Record Low Unemployment

Organizations need precise and timely data, along with the capabilities to accurately analyze that data, to make informed decisions about allocating a limited compensation budget. This is important both on the macro level of developing competitive compensation strategies and also on the micro level of determining market-based pay for individual employees. Including The PayScale Index as a resource can keep you informed of economic trends.Our recently released 2019 Q3 Index shows that despite record low unemployment, we are still seeing mild wage growth across the U.S. The Q3 Index revealed nominal wages increased by just 0.5 percent quarter over quarter (Q/Q) or 2.6 percent year over year (Y/Y).“Unemployment numbers hit a record low of 3.5 percent in September. This was not surprising with job growth averaging 161,000 new jobs per month for the first nine months of the year,” said Sudarshan Sampath, Director of Research at PayScale. “However, we are now seeing this remarkable job growth begin to slow, as the economy loses some of its spark. We expect wage growth to remain at its steady rate in the coming months as a result.”