Washington (CNN Business) With the unemployment rate at its lowest level in nearly 50 years, American workers are finally starting to see their paychecks grow a little faster.

Weekly wages rose at an annualized rate of 3.3% in the third quarter, the Labor Department announced Tuesday, which beats the 2.6% increase in inflation over the same period.

That's an improvement from the 2% increase in wages in the second quarter , which wasn't enough to make up for inflation.

The weekly earnings measure is based on a survey that asks full-time wage and salary workers how much they usually make in a week.

Wages have been the missing piece of America's economic recovery, with flat or very slow growth depending on which measure is used. Even the White House Council of Economic Advisers only found a 1.4% increase over the past year using adjustments that take into account benefits and changes in the workforce that make wage growth look higher.

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