US Q4 Employment Cost Index Indicates Labor Market Remains Unsettled
Employment Cost Index Signals Ongoing Labor Market Cooling
In the fourth quarter, the Employment Cost Index showed a slightly softer increase than anticipated, indicating that the labor market is steadily easing. Compared to the previous year, total compensation rose by 3.4%, marking the slowest annual growth rate since early 2021. While the deceleration has been most pronounced in wages and salaries, benefit expenses have also moderated—though health-related benefits remain an exception to this trend.
Overall, the pace of compensation growth now appears sufficient to boost workers’ real incomes without significantly fueling inflation, especially in light of recent strong productivity gains. As a result, labor costs are likely to pose less of a challenge for inflation going forward.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Jensen Huang steps down, and the "biggest patron" of new AI players is gone too
Anthropic's tens-of-billions IPO investment, Figure AI's additional $1 billion, and Nscale's over $5 billion credit guarantee are all in negotiations but their outcomes remain uncertain. Meanwhile, its $500 billion AI financing platform has stalled, and some clients are considering switching to AMD or Google. Successor Kress has a conservative style and has repeatedly vetoed deals aggressively promoted by Jensen Huang, signaling the possible end of Nvidia's era of bold investments.
Applied Materials (AMAT.US) Q4 Earnings Call: CEO Responds to Capacity Mismatch Concerns, Says No Customer Delayed Delivery; System Capacity Expected to Double by 2028
Applied Materials released its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 (ending October 25, 2026) after the US stock market closed on November 12.
The End of an Era! Semianalysis: Without Jensen Huang, Nvidia Will Become the Next Apple
Semianalysis believes that Jensen Huang’s departure marks the end of a founder-driven era. Nvidia is highly likely to replicate the "post-Steve Jobs Apple model"—shifting from aggressive bets to stock buybacks—which is not beneficial for either technological advancement or shareholders. A greater concern is that the supply chain advantages, customer trust system, and open-source ecosystem moat personally built by Jensen Huang will be difficult for his successor to replicate. By 2028, over 70% of total production capacity may shift to non-Nvidia players.
Crypto prices
More
