As companies tried to keep up with inflation in a historically tight labor market, worker pay and benefits increased once more in the second quarter. The Labor Department said that total compensation increased by 1.3 percent, which is not far off from the record first-quarter increase of 1.4 percent. The cost of labor for employers increased by 5.1 percent in the second quarter, up from 4.5 percent in the first and the highest level since records have been kept in the early 2000s. The acceleration of pay and benefits is anticipated to boost inflation further, which in June stood at 9.1 percent annually, the highest rate in more than 40 years.
Read full details on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website…