Strong US Job Market , May Be Cooling With Slower , Growth in Pay and Benefits.<br />In the last three months of 2023, pay and benefits <br />for workers in the United States grew at <br />the slowest pace in two and a half years. .<br />ABC reports that the trend could impact <br />the Federal Reserve's decision regarding <br />when interest rates can start to be cut. .<br />In the October-December quarter, <br />the government's Employment <br />Cost Index (ECI) rose just 0.9%.<br />That figure is down from <br />1.1% in the previous quarter. .<br />Compared to the same time in <br />2022, compensation growth <br />slowed from 4.3% down to 4.2%.<br />ABC reports that economists have suggested <br />that slowing wage gains could encourage <br />the Fed to start cutting rates as early as March.<br />Other economic analysts have forecast <br />the first cuts to occur in May or June. .<br />The Fed considers the ECI to be one of the most <br />important gauges of earnings and benefits <br />because it offers a measure of "how pay changes <br />for the same sample of jobs," ABC reports. .<br />According to the ECI, growth in pay <br />and benefits peaked at 5.1% <br />back in the fall of 2022.<br />At the time, inflation was still on <br />the rise, reducing the overall <br />buying power of U.S. consumers.<br />ABC reports that the Fed is looking to slow <br />inflation enough to make smaller pay increases <br />result in larger, inflation-adjusted income gains
