What the Employment Cost Index Reveals About Wage Pressure in Mid-2026

We dig into the latest Employment Cost Index data — wages rose to 177.5 in Q1 2026, up from 176.23. Lucas and Luna unpack what this means for workers and employers: is wage growth accelerating or cooling? They tie it to April's JOLTS surge to 7.6 million openings and the flat 4.3% unemployment rate. The episode explores how the ECI, which adjusts for job composition, gives a cleaner read on underlying wage pressure than average hourly earnings. They also look at which industries are seeing the biggest cost increases and why the Fed pays attention to this specific metric. This isn't about headline numbers—it's about what the ECI tells us that other wage data misses. #EmploymentCostIndex #WagePressure #WageGrowth #JOLTS #LaborMarket #Fed #Inflation #Jobs #Careers #Business #Finance #Economics #LucasAndLuna #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #JobMarketPodcast #HiringTrends #Unemployment Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo