US labor cost growth slows to lowest annual rate since 2021
US labor cost growth slowed to 0.7 percent in the final quarter of last year. This marks the smallest annual increase in over four years as demand cools.
Insights:
Labor cost growth in the US 
US slowed during the fourth quarter of last year, as the Employment Cost Index (ECI) rose 0.7% quarter-to-quarter and 3.4% year-on-year. This 3.4% rise is the smallest annual increase since the second quarter of 2021, marking a notable deceleration in the pace of compensation growth.
US slowed during the fourth quarter of last year, as the Employment Cost Index (ECI) rose 0.7% quarter-to-quarter and 3.4% year-on-year. This 3.4% rise is the smallest annual increase since the second quarter of 2021, marking a notable deceleration in the pace of compensation growth.As a broad measure of labor costs, the Employment Cost Index is a key predictor of core inflation and a gauge of slack within the U.S. labor market . The cooling of these costs is significant because it bears on inflation readings and informs monetary policy considerations for the national economy.
