There’s good reason to believe productivity will stay strong. When the labor market was tight, employers invested in upgrades.

The job market is still tilted in workers’ favor.

While the labor market is still tight, some owners aren’t feeling like they need to hike pay as much as they did earlier in the pandemic.

It’s been harder for lower- and middle-income households to afford higher food, rent and gas prices without getting into debt.

Reports from companies and job search sites indicate that employers are lowering the pay they offer for newly posted jobs.

Wages are falling fastest at the bottom of the income distribution.

That’s good news for in the fight against inflation, as long as consumers don’t cut spending so much that the economy tips into recession.

Higher interest rates and inflation still spark anxiety. But wages have grown, and some have a greater feeling of financial security.

Those same workers have seen their wages grow faster than the overall average in the last year thanks to the labor shortage.

That may be a sign that the overheated job market is cooling down.