Last Friday’s November labor report reinforces the notion that the economy really is improving. Payroll growth has averaged 241,000/month year-to-date, a 24% improvement over last year. Yet private sector wage gains are up a measly 2.1% year-over-year, despite the strong wage gains of 0.4% last month. Significantly, last month’s “strong” wage gains translate into an average pay raise of just 4.5 cents/hour above trend wage growth. The Fed stands pat.