President Trump has complained that a selloff in stock markets is a “big mistake” because all the news about the U.S. economy is “great,” but that’s exactly why investors are worried.

The stunning plunge in stocks on Monday and Thursdaywere triggered by last week’s monthly U.S. jobs report that showed worker pay rising at the fastest pace since 2009. Faster wage growth is sometimes an omen of higher inflation.

Wall Street frets that higher inflation will force the Federal Reserve to jack up interest rates, making bonds TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.701% more attractive than stocks DJIA, -0.87% SPX, -1.11% and slowing the U.S. economy. That’s why many investors were apparently anxious to reduce their stock portfolios.

But is inflation really ready to break out after years barely moving? There’s plenty of reason to believe the panic over wages is overdone.

The government said hourly wages rose in January at 2.9% yearly clip, the biggest increase since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009. During the current expansion annual pay has risen about 2.5% or considerably less — well below the typical 3% to 4% gains that prevail at height of an economic boom.

Yet the upswing in January was probably exaggerated by onetime factors. Minimum-wage increases took effect in 18 states, for example, and many lower-paid workers were let go from temporary holiday-season jobs.

Opinion:This is why the stock market is wrong to fear rising wages

Like many economists, Cathy Barrera of the online jobs marketplace ZipRecruiter is skeptical about the spike in wages in January. She said companies are used to holding the line on pay and are likely to continue to seek less expensive ways to attract workers.

“Employers don’t just raise wages,” she said. “Hiring managers are not going to change their ways until it’s no longer working. Another way they attract workers is by improving the quality of the job.”

“ “Employers don’t just raise wages.” ” — — Cathy Barrera, chief economist at ZipRecruiter

A tight labor market and the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years also pose a new quandary for hiring managers.

The current pool of available labor largely consists of the young and inexperienced or older people, often without college degrees, lacking the resumes needed in today’s post-industrial economy. Some have been out of work for lengthy periods, too.

“They have very few skills and have to be hired at training-level wages,” said Dan North, chief economist at Euler Hermes North America. “You are not going to pay them the same as you would someone who’s been there five years.”

More broadly, worker pay is also being held down by long-term trends that defy easy answers.

• Union membership is at a record low, so employees have less leverage.

• Retiring baby boomers with high salaries are being replaced by less expensive millennials.

• The economy and labor market have become more global in scope, forcing Americans to compete with workers around the world.

• Productivity — how much workers produce per hour — is unusually weak. Firms would have to reduce profits if they gave out raises that exceeded productivity gains.

• And many workers still scarred from the Great Recession are too anxious to move, switch jobs or ask for bigger raises.

Still, as Jim O’Sullivan of High Frequency Economics points out, the law of supply and demand have not been repealed. Sooner or later — and he’s betting on sooner — wages are bound to creep higher as firms compete harder for worker in a time of labor shortages.

Stephen Stanley, chief economist of Amherst Pierpont Securities, agrees. He thinks hourly pay will grow 3% in 2018 for the first time since 2008.

While he acknowledged the wage gains last month may have been exaggerated, the “January employment report could be remembered as the point at which it become obvious that wages were finally accelerating meaningfully,” Stanley said.

If he’s right, the Fed is sure to raise interest rates three times as planned in 2018 and perhaps add a fourth increase.

Read:Fed’s Evans sees ‘hint’ of building inflation pressures

An aggressive rate-raising strategy would make bonds more attractive than stocks and run the risk of slowing the economy — exactly what stock owners now fear. What is good news to Trump is not necessarily good news for them.