article_snippet.sent: Wage growth in March remained modest.
article_snippet.sent: Average hourly wages rose 7 cents to $24.86 an hour.
article_snippet.sent: That marked a year-over-year pay increase of just 2.1 percent.
article_snippet.sent: Tepid pay increases have been a drag on the economy since the Great Recession ended nearly six years ago.
article_snippet.sent: McDonald's, Wal-Mart, the Gap and other major employers have announced raises for McDonald's, Wal-Mart, the Gap and other major employers lowest-paid employees.
article_snippet.sent: But raises for their lowest-paid employees are staggered and unlikely to fuel faster wage growth.
article_snippet.sent: the economy has disproportionately added lower-paying jobs in the retail and restaurant sectors since the economic recovery began in mid-2009.
article_snippet.sent: Adding jobs in the lowest-paid industries can suppress average hourly wages, even when employers are rewarding cashiers, waiters and sales clerks with pay bumps.