Atlanta Fed Wage Tracker
Wage growth in August held steady at 4.1%, unchanged from July and down from 4.6% a year ago. For Job Stayers, wage gains slowed to 3.8% from 4.1%, while Job Switchers saw a pickup to 4.4% from 4.0%.
The Cost of Waiting
With inflation stabilizing, the labor market cooling, and the Fed all but confirming a rate cut for their September 17 meeting, mortgage rates improved quickly. But remember—markets are forward-looking. Much of this move has already been priced in, and history shows that these windows of lower rates don’t stay open long. Timing is critical, and the opportunity could be just a few days.
ECB Update
Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank held rates steady at 2.0% in a unanimous decision—no surprise there, given markets had priced in a 99% chance of a pause. The real surprise came in the form of stronger growth projections, with 2025 GDP revised up to 1.2% from 0.9%.