Employment costs over the past two quarters rose 0.7 percent, according to figures from the Labor Department. The gain in the third quarter was led by a 0.8 percent advance in wages and salaries for civilian workers that was the biggest since the second quarter of 2008.

The jobless rate has dropped by 1.4 percentage points over the past year to reach a six-year low of 5.8 percent in October, and the number of jobs waiting to be filled in August and September were highest since early 2001.

About two jobless workers were pursuing each opening in September, the fewest since early 2008 and down from almost seven in July 2009 at the depths of the last recession, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from a Labor Department report issued Nov. 13.

The 2-to-1 ratio is the threshold that typically leads to larger pay increases in about six months as employers compete for a dwindling talent pool, according to research by economists at UBS Securities.

As the jobless rate nears the 5.2 percent to 5.5 percent level that Federal Reserve policymakers say is equivalent to full employment, more companies will probably warm to the idea that wages will need to go up. That's already true of industries such as trucking.