Economy

Real Wages in Japan Fall for 11th Straight Month in November

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

Jiji Press

17:15 JST, January 8, 2026

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage index fell 2.8% year on year in November 2025, marking the 11th straight month of decline as wage growth failed to outpace rising prices, government data showed Thursday.

Nominal wages per worker, including base salary and overtime, inched up 0.5% to ¥310,202 on average, rising for the 47th consecutive month, the labor ministry said in a preliminary report covering businesses with five or more employees.

Regular pay, mainly comprising base salary, rose 2.0%, while special pay, including bonuses, dropped 17.0%.

The consumer price index, excluding imputed rent, climbed 3.3%.

A separate real wage index used for international comparison, calculated using the overall CPI that includes imputed rent, fell 2.4%, marking a decline for four months in a row.

Nominal wages for full-time workers were up 0.8% at ¥399,997, and those for part-timers increased 1.0% to ¥113,165. The average hourly wage for part-time workers rose 4.2% to ¥1,426.