### Instruction: Extract causal economic narratives from the news article below! A causal economic narrative is a pair of events where the first event causes the second or the second event causes the first. State all narratives from the article in the following form: 'Summary of first event - Summary of second event'. Also state which of the two events is the cause!
### Input: "The American economy is booming based on today's reading of the employment situation, which should go a long way to reassuring nervous Nellies in financial markets," NAME_1, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank, said in a note to investors. Wage growth hit 3.2 percent a year in December, the fastest pace in nearly a decade and a sign of increasing competition for workers. While inflation eats up some of those gains, wages are growing about a percent above the cost of living for the typical American, mainly because gas prices have stayed low. Many cheered the strong hiring report, but some analysts were quick to say that it is a lagging indicator that is not necessarily a great predictor of where the economy is headed. "While today's number is great to see, I'm not going to use it to influence my view of economic growth in 2019, which will be on a slowing trajectory," said NAME_2, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group.