MNI: NY FED Survey: Tightening Labor Market

By Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - Despite tightening labor market conditions, consumers'

wage expectations are softening - the New York Fed's Survey of Consumer

Expectations November Labor Market Survey showed Monday.

     The survey showed that there was both an increase in the percentage of

respondents receiving job offers in the past four months, up from 17.2% to

19.4%, and the average full-time wage offer received, up from $49,250 in July to

$59,110. 

     This may be a positive signal for those waiting for the tightening labor

market to carry over into wage inflation. However, the survey also reports a

curious decrease in the average salary expected by respondents expecting job

offers, declining from $50,790 in July to $49,855, the lowest level since

November 2014.

     The survey also reported that the average reservation wage, or the lowest

wage respondents are willing to accept for a new position, decreased from

$57,960 to $56,860, the lowest since March 2015. Expectations for receiving a

job offer in the next four months remained unchanged at 22.0%. These soft

expectations for wage offers amidst a tight labor market pose some questions as

to why wage growth has been so slow to pick up - including if consumers know how

in demand their labor is. 

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: holly.stokes@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$U$$$]