On expectations of a 1.0% rise, US unit labor costs rose a disappointing 0.6% (missing for the 3rd of last 4 quarters). This should come as no surprise as despite the constant barrage of bullshit from the mainstream media's talking heads about wage growth around the corner, July saw the first annual decline in real wages since 2012 [2]. What is most worrisome for the serial extyrapolators about today's unit labor costs data is the massive revision to Q1 dats - up from a 5.7% rise to an almost record-breaking 11.8% rise. This is clearly a one-off and means wage growth (which was never really growing) is now fading rapidly.
Unity labor costs slipped back from the one-off spike revision in Q1...
[3]
which makes sense given the slide in real wages...first annual decline since October 2012.
[4]
Additionally, Productivity rose more than expected...
[5]
So the "blood from a stone" economy rolls on...
