Powerful Pay

Despite confusion wrought by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, September’s employment report was stellar. Upward revisions to wage growth totaling three-tenths-of-one-percent for July and August and a 0.5% rise in September suggest wages are rising! Moreover, the unemployment rate declined to 4.2%, its best level since 2/01, and the labor force participation rate rose to 63.1%, best since 3/14. These numbers all but guarantee a December Fed rate hike of 0.25%.