In a worrying sign for the U.S. economy, U.S. labor costs recorded their smallest increase in the last 33 years in the second quarter thanks to bad gains in the private sector.

The Employment Cost Index, a measurement of labor costs in the United States, increased by just 0.2 percent, the Labor Department announced, according to a Reuters report.

But is this a cause for concern? Many economists say not necessarily, as it could be a temporary setback due to diminishing labor market slack.

Still, the fact that it was the smallest gain since a 0.7 percent increase in the first quarter all the way back in 1982, there’s reason for concern.

The 0.2 percent figure was lower than expectations, but economists were already predicting a slight rise, calling for a 0.6 rise in the index.

Still, this might not be an indication of slowing wage growth. Commissions tend to inflate the compensation workers get at the beginning of the year, and therefore now that labor market slack has diminished, returns might start trending upward again.

The unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent, which, which is about in the range that the Federal Reserve considers close to full employment — about 5.0 to 5.2 percent.

The Federal Reserve is gearing to raise interest rates for the first time since the Great Recession began now that labor numbers and the economy in general appears to have recovered and is on an upward trend. There have been some setbacks in recent months, but experts believe that the trends are still pointing up.