Wages are stagnating as the job market cools, restraining the consumer spending that is needed to sustain the U.S. economic recovery. Average hourly earnings were little changed in August from the prior month and up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, matching the smallest gain since records began in 2007, the Labor Department reported last week. Payroll growth slowed to 96,000 last month, while the unemployment rate fell as more people left the labor force. Limited employment and wage prospects together with the highest gasoline prices in four months are straining household budgets after the weakest quarter for ... (full story)