Japan Real Wages Fall 3.0% in November

Jiji Press

17:25 JST, January 10, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage index in November last year declined 3.0% from a year before as price increases outpaced pay growth, the labor ministry said Wednesday. The index fell for the 20th straight month.

Nominal monthly wages rose 0.2% to ¥288,741 per worker. Regular pay including basic salary grew 1.2% to ¥252,591, with overtime and other nonregular pay up 0.9% at ¥19,788. Special pay including bonuses fell 13.2% to ¥16,362.

The consumer price index excluding imputed rent, used to calculate the real wage index, rose 3.3% in November. Prices grew for a wide range of food items including eggs as well as accommodation and mobile phone services.

The average nominal wage increased 0.3% to ¥377,001 for full-time workers and 2.5% to ¥104,253 for part-timers. Monthly work hours per head were unchanged at 138.8 hours.