Still Waiting on Wage Growth Despite Worker Shortage

Investing.com - Incoming Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will be among the many pouring over the latest employment data due out Friday.The job market has been full of surprises in recent years and many are waiting to see if 2018 will be the year wage growth finally shows healthy gains.Given the fundamentals that should already have been happening.The number of new jobs has increased for 7 straight years.Last year alone, the economy cranked out 2.1 million jobs, which was more than expected.The unemployment rate is down to 4.1%, a 17 year low.At the same time, worker shortages are becoming common. The construction industry, for one, says it can't find enough workers, A majority of small businesses also have hiring problems.Still, average hourly wages increased just 2.5% in 2017, which is far below the rate during past economic expansions. Economists have struggled to explain why. Among the reasons, a large number of higher paid baby boomers are retiring and the fact that many of the new jobs created are low-paying ones.