Workers in the private sector can expect to see a pickup in the overall rate of annual wage gains by early 2012, according to the revised third quarterWage Trend Indicator (WTI)released today byBNA, a leading publisher of specialized news and information.

The WTI rose to 98.35 (second quarter 1976 = 100) from 98.21 in the second quarter. If confirmed by the final third quarter reading, this would mark the index's fifth consecutive gain.

"The U.S. economy is being buffeted by more negative forces, which increases the risks, but we're still seeing slow growth," economist Kathryn Kobe, a consultant who maintains and helped develop BNA's WTI database, said. "The latest WTI continues to point to wage increases inching up, as labor markets gradually improve,"Kobesaid.

The rate of annual pay increases for wage and salary workers is expected to improve from the 1.7 percent gain posted in the second quarter of 2011, according to the Department of Labor's latest employment cost index (ECI) but is unlikely to exceed 2.0 percent.

Reflecting recent labor market conditions, five of the WTI's seven components made positive contributions to the revised third quarter reading, while one factor was negative and one was neutral.

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