Each period is different, but very low unemployment rates have often preceded significant economic busts
.. There have been only three fleeting periods in the past half-century when the U.S. unemployment rate was as low as it is today.Low unemployment of the late 1960s preceded an inflation spiral in the 1970s. The late 1990s bred the Dot-com bubble and bust. The mid-2000s saw the buildup and collapse of U.S. housing.
.. Wage dynamics also have changed. Hourly wages increased more than 6% a year in the late 1960s. They rose over 4% a year in the late-90s and in the waning days of the housing bubble. Today, wage growth has been stuck around 2.5%.