US labour costs jump during the first quarter of 2018
US labour costs shot higher at the start of 2018 as wage growth outstripped improvements in labour productivity.
During the first quarter of 2018, US labour costs increased at a quarterly annualised pace of 2.7% (consensus: 3.0%), as hourly compensation picked-up to a 3.4% pace, according to the Department of Labor.
Yet in real or inflation-adjusted terms, hourly compensation fell by 0.1%.
Labour productivity meanwhile was only 0.7% higher (consensus: 0.9%).
In terms of year-on-year rates of change, labour costs were ahead by 1.1% and productivity by 1.3%.