Nursing care workers’ monthly wage up by 7,780 yen in Japan

Jiji Press

17:04 JST, March 24, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The average monthly wage of people working at nursing care facilities in Japan covered under the government’s wage-hike scheme as of September 2021 rose by ¥7,780 from a year before, the labor ministry said Thursday.

According to a survey on salaries of employees at nursing homes, the average monthly wage of full-time workers at facilities receiving financial support under the ministry’s scheme to encourage pay raises for experienced nursing care staff rose to ¥323,190.

The figure, however, falls below the average pay for employees among all industries, at ¥352,000 in 2020.

The number of nursing care facilities covered under the scheme has gone up as many of such establishments worked on improving their work environment to be eligible to apply for the support, a ministry official said.

While the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has introduced measures to raise wages of care staff by around ¥9,000 per month, the impact of such actions was not included in the latest survey, as they were implemented from February this year.