WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell (pic) has avoided the gaffe his United Kingdom counterpart made last month but he’s delivering much the same message: Wages are growing too fast for the good of the economy.
While Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey sparked a minor firestorm when he suggested workers shouldn’t ask for big wage increases – UK labour unions tore into him for his remarks –
Powell’s description of a “tight to unhealthy” job market on Wednesday made barely any waves.
Behind the comments by the monetary policy makers: Concern that super-tight labour markets are fuelling outsize wage gains, hindering their efforts to reduce surging inflation.
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