a welder works while building a bus frame at the byd electric bus factory in lancaster california us july 1 2021 reutersmike blake washington july 29 reuters  us labor costs increased strongly in the second quarter as a tight jobs market continued to boost wage growth which could keep inflation elevated for a while the employment cost index the broadest measure of labor costs rose 13 last quarter after accelerating 14 in the januarymarch period the labor department said on friday economists polled by reuters had forecast the eci would rise 12 in the second quarter labor costs surged 51 on a yearonyear basis after increasing 45 in the first quarter the eci is widely viewed by policymakers and economists as one of the better measures of labor market slack and a predictor of core inflation as it adjusts for composition and jobquality changes it is being closely watched for signs of whether wage growth has peaked as economists and investors try to gauge the pace of the federal reserves interest rate hikes the us central bank on wednesday raised its policy rate by another threequarters of a percentage point it has now hiked that rate by 225 basis points since march read more there have been mixed signals on wages while annual growth in average hourly earnings in the labor departments monthly employment report slowed in the first half of the year the atlanta feds wage tracker accelerated the feds beige book report this month showed that most districts continued to report wage growth and a quarter of districts indicated wage growth will remain elevated for the next six months there were 113 million job openings at the end of may with nearly two open positions for every unemployed person