Wage Growth Tops Mortgage Rate. First Time Since '72.

The U.S. economy reached an important milestone in October that ought to put it on a more sustainable footing going forward: wage growth eclipsed mortgage rates for the first time since 1972.

Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees -- who comprise more than 80% of the U.S. private-sector workforce -- rose 3.8% from a year earlier in October, according to Labor Department data published Friday. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the U.S. in October was about 3.7%, according to Freddie Mac data. A year ago, before the Fed began easing, mortgage rates were closer to 4.9%.