NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is getting closer to “full employment” in which wages should meaningfully start to push inflation higher, though there remains “a little bit of slack” in the labor market, a top Federal Reserve policymaker said on Thursday.

New York Fed President William Dudley said he expects the U.S. economy to grow at a rate of roughly 2.5 to 3 percent in the second half of the year, with the 2.5-percent rise in wages suggesting the labor market is getting closer to full employment.