ADP: Wage growth is picking up

Wage growth may be accelerating more rapidly than government data has been showing.

Giant payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that the average hourly wages of job holders — employees in the same job for at least 12 months — rose 3.5% in the third quarter, up from 2.5% in the second quarter and 1.9% in the first quarter.

By contrast, the Labor Department said that average hourly earnings in September were up just 2.2% from a year ago, roughly in line with the sluggish 2% pace that has prevailed for most of the six-year-old recovery.