Core inflation and unit labour costs
In the United States and the euro zone, we want to see whether there is a close link between core inflation (excluding energy and food, or excluding energy, food and rents imputed to homeowners in the United States, and excluding energy and unprocessed food in the euro zone) and growth in unit labour costs. In fact, we should not be comparing wage growth and inflation, but rather unit labour costs (wages adjusted for labour productivity) and inflation. The link between unit labour costs and core inflation: Is skewed by the sharp rise in profit margins in the United States ; Is strong and close in the euro zone.