Healthcare wages began rising sharply in 2014 after the Affordable Care Act fueled a surge of hiring at hospitals to treat the influx of newly insured patients, according to the article. Wage gains for healthcare professionals peaked at a growth rate of 2.7 percent in December 2015. The Federal Reserve considers 2 percent a healthy inflation rate.
But data released by the Labor Department on July 8 shows wage gains in the healthcare sector are beginning to slow. In May 2016, healthcare wages increased by 1.3 percent, according to the article.
This slowdown in healthcare wage growth could prevent the national inflation rate from reaching 2 percent, Federal Reserve officials told Reuters. This could prohibit the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates later this year.
“We’d like to see a little more inflation,” Federal Reserve President William Dudley told Reuters.
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