Sales are up for companies, and so are wages, survey says

NEW YORK – Sales and profits picked up for companies at the end of last year, and more say they’re paying their workers higher wages and salaries in the latest signs the U.S. economy continues to improve.

The encouraging signals come from the latest survey the National Association for Business Economics did of more than 100 members at companies and industry groups.

The survey was released Monday. It shows that after years of recovery following the Great Recession the job market and the economy have become so healthy that businesses say finding skilled workers is the most difficult it has been in nearly a decade.

The responses fit with recent government reports that show the economy grew at a 2.6 per cent annual rate in the last three months of 2017 and the unemployment rate is at a 17-year low.