There are hints of progress. Earnings growth, at least before adjusting for inflation, has accelerated a bit in recent years. And more sophisticated measures show somewhat stronger gains. The Employment Cost Index, a measure of compensation that considers benefits as well as cash pay, was up 2.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, its fastest pace in two and a half years.

Some industries are seeing faster growth — and not just for high-earners. In recent months, there have been hints that wage gains are filtering down to workers in fast food and other low-wage industries. In September, the retail giant Target announced that it was raising pay for all its workers to at least $11 an hour and would pay at least $15 an hour by the end of 2020. That move, and others like it, is putting pressure on other low-wage employers to increase pay.

“It’s really hard to retain employees when those companies are saying, ‘Any employee in our company is getting at least $15 an hour,’” said Jennifer Durham, chief development officer for Checkers and Rally’s, a drive-through burger chain with 860 locations across the country.

So far, however, Checkers and Rally’s has resisted broad-based pay increases, choosing instead to focus on helping employees earn more through advancement.

“Base pay is a starting point, but it’s not the entire proposition,” Ms. Durham said.

Republicans in Washington in recent weeks have proposed their own solution to slow wage growth: lower taxes on businesses, which they argue would lead to big pay increases for workers. Many economists are skeptical that companies would pass tax savings on to workers, or argue that the benefits of the Republicans’ proposed tax plan would be far smaller than its authors claim.

Instead, economists point to another factor holding back wage gains: productivity. Growth in productivity — how much workers can produce in an hour, on average — has been slow, making it harder for companies to improve wages without eating into profit margins.

“It’s hard to get wages really taking off without productivity growth,” Mr. Ryan said.

Productivity growth accelerated in the third quarter, though it is too soon to know whether the that represents the start of a longer-lasting rebound. And despite the disappointing pay data, there are signs that companies are being forced to work harder to attract employees, and to keep the ones they have from bolting to competitors. A report from the payroll-processing firm ADP this month found that people who switch jobs are seeing significant pay gains, which suggests workers are jumping ship in search of better opportunities.