Real Wages in Japan Down 0.6% in Aug. for 1st Drop in 3 Months

Jiji Press

11:35 JST, October 9, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage index in August fell 0.6% from a year before, down for the first time in three months, the labor ministry said in a preliminary report Tuesday.

The decline reflected elevated prices in the country and the diminished effects of summer bonus payments, which pushed up real wages substantially in June and July.

Nominal wages per worker, which include regular and nonregular pay, rose 3.0%, up for 32 consecutive months. Of the total, regular pay, including base salary, grew 3.0%, the steepest increase in 31 years and 10 months.

Special pay, including bonuses, went up 2.7%, but the growth rate narrowed from 6.6% in the previous month.

The consumer price index excluding imputed rent, used to calculate the real wage index, was up 3.5% in August, compared with a 3.2% rise in July.

The average nominal wage climbed 2.7% to ¥377,861 for full-time workers and rose 3.9% to ¥110,033 for part-timers.

Thanks to the resumption of government subsidies for electricity and gas bills, the growth in prices is expected to start slowing down in September.

Noting that wages in Japan are holding steady, a labor ministry official predicted that the real wage index may turn positive depending on the course of prices.