08:20 AM EST, 11/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Bank of Canada has been downplaying the persistent strength in some measures of wages, notably the near-5% year-over-year rise in average hourly wages in the LAbour Force Survey (LFS), said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

However, the companion payroll employment survey (SEPH) is, if anything, now sending an even louder message of caution from wages, noted the bank.

The SEPH survey revealed that the fixed-weight measure of average hourly earnings rose 5.2% year over year in September. That's down from 6.0% the prior month, but that reading was the highest in 33 years of data, stated BMO.

By this measure, wages are running far above core inflation, even as productivity has stalled, pointed out the bank. The two small notes of comfort from an inflation perspective are: 1) wages don't really lead to inflation, and 2) a much softer job market should eventually cool these trends.

However, it's notable how sticky wages remain, added BMO.