Putting the brakes on runaway wage growth could help avoid a recession in 2023, but it won’t be easy

Average annual wage gains dipped to 5.2% in the third quarter from 5.7% early this year. But that’s still well above the average of 3.3% before the pandemic and about 2% before health crisis. The Federal Reserve has sharply raised interest rates to lower annual inflation that hit 9.1% in June. . . .