U.S. wages and salaries broke 3 percent in 2018 for the first time in more than a decade, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday.

Wages and salaries for U.S. workers rose 3.1 percent in the 2018's fourth quarter, up from 2.9 percent the previous quarter.

CNBC noted that the figure marked the first time in more than 10 years that wage and salary increases had topped 3 percent.

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The overall worker compensation index, which includes benefits, rose 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

Those working in the private sector saw wage and salary increases of 3.1 percent, matching the overall increase, while those working in state and local governments only saw an increase of 2.4 percent.

Adjusted for inflation, real average hourly earnings increased 1.1 between December 2017 and December 2018 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released earlier in January.

The U.S. economy is continuing to expand, according to Labor Department data released Friday that found 304,000 jobs were added in January. Unemployment ticked up to 4 percent.