It has been a long time coming — eight years, in fact — but the economic recovery is finally showing up in the average American worker’s paycheck in a big way.

There have been plenty of winners in the recovery, which began in mid-2009: companies, homeowners, investors and, especially, households at the apex of the economic pyramid. But the paucity of gains in take-home pay has stoked anxiety and frustration for many others, a factor in the wave of discontent that President-elect Donald J. Trump rode to victory in November.

But even as Mr. Trump prepares to succeed President Obama in two weeks, the Labor Department reported on Friday that average hourly earnings rose by 2.9 percent last year, the best annual performance since the recovery began.

And many economists expect the trend to gain momentum this year, as a tighter labor market forces employers to pay more to hire and retain workers. “This is a turning point for the overall economy,” said Diane Swonk, a veteran independent economist in Chicago.