WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — There’s some good news in the headlines this morning: After years of sluggish growth, wages seem to be rising again, finally.

Real, steady growth in wages is the missing ingredient in the economy right now. If this trend can be sustained and strengthened, tens of millions of families could begin to breath easier. And the Federal Reserve could be more confident that it can raise interest rates off the zero bound.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that labor costs for U.S. workers increased 0.7% in the third quarter, matching the gain in the second quarter. Wages increased 0.8%, while the cost of benefits rose 0.6%. Over the past year, employment costs are up 2.3%, the fastest growth since 2008.

For months, economists have been saying the steady decline in the unemployment rate would inevitably lead to higher wages, as employers would have to bid up the wages they offer to recruit and retain productive workers. That prediction was fine in theory, but it didn’t seem to be showing up in anyone’s paycheck.

Now there’s mounting evidence that wages are beginning to tick higher. Consider:

• Wages for private-sector workers are up at a 3% annual pace over the past six months, according to the employment cost index.

• Usual median wages are up 2.4% over the past year. Even more encouraging, median wages for the lowest-paid workers have risen 3%.

• Average hourly earnings for nonsupervisory and production workers (about 80% of workers) are up 2.6% in the past year.

With consumer inflation rates subdued, these wage gains are actually helping people get ahead. But the wage gains aren’t pressuring companies to raise their prices, and probably won’t, because companies still have most of the bargaining power against workers. Management is still very focused on controlling costs and profits are still healthy.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said she thinks wages could rise 3% to 4% every year without causing an inflation problem. If wages were growing at 3% to 4%, the Fed could normalize interest rates quickly without trying to throttle back the economy.

And that would be very good news.