The pace of wage growth in the private sector is likely to continue to accelerate modestly in the coming months, according to the revised second quarter Wage Trend Indicator (WTI) released today by Bloomberg BNA, a leading publisher of specialized news and information.

The index rose to 98.69 (second quarter 1976 = 100) from 98.42 in the first quarter.

"The latest WTI is indicating modest upward pressure on annual wage increases," economist Kathryn Kobe, a consultant who maintains and helped develop Bloomberg BNA's WTI database, said. "At the same time, there is additional uncertainty about the overall economic outlook because of potential headwinds from the debt crisis in Europe and other factors," Kobesaid.

Over its history, the WTI has predicted a turning point in wage trends six to nine months before the trends are apparent in the Department of Labor's employment cost index (ECI). A sustained increase in the WTI forecasts greater pressure to raise private sector wages, while a sustained decline is predictive of a deceleration in the rate of wage increases.

Kobe said that barring a shock to the U.S. economy, she expects annual wage gains in the private sector to reach 2.0 percent or more, compared with a 1.9 percent year-over-year increase in the first quarter, as measured by the ECI. The WTI does not forecast the magnitude of wage growth, only the direction.

Reflecting recent economic conditions, five of the WTI's seven components made positive contributions to the revised second quarter reading, while two factors were negative.