Outside of aberrations such as Fort McMurray, we are unaccustomed to thinking
about upward wage pressures for non-superstars, so it should not be entirely surprising that we see this as unusual and a problem to be solved.
In the days back when Alan Greenspan railed about the need to
control upward wage pressures (that is, living standards) in order to squeeze labor more, he was not talking about CEO pay.
As I sifted through the Beige Book to see which areas of the economy were
posting upward wage pressures and growing skilled labour shortages I could see a large swath — Technology, Construction, Transportation Services, Restaurants, Durable Goods Manufacturing.
Upward wage pressure is starting to occur in many industries and locations across the nation.