Japan real wages down for 2nd straight month in February
People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
TOKYO, Japan — Real wages in Japan fell for the second straight month in February as wage growth failed to outpace price rises amid continued price hikes for everyday items such as rice and vegetables, government data showed Monday.
The inflation-adjusted real wage index declined 1.2 percent from a year before, the labor ministry said in a preliminary report.
Nominal wages per worker, which include regular and non-regular pay, rose 3.1 percent to 289,562 yen, increasing for the 38th consecutive month.
The consumer price index excluding imputed rent, used to calculate the real wage index, remained high, growing 4.3 percent.
A reduction in government subsidies for gasoline and soaring prices offset the effect of wage increases, putting pressure on households.
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Unless prices stabilize, it will be difficult for real wages to turn positive in a stable manner, a ministry official said.
Winter bonuses, paid between last November and January this year, averaged 413,277 yen per worker, up 2.5 percent from a year before, the ministry said. In the manufacturing sector, which continued to perform well, especially among exporters, amid the yen’s weakening, the average winter bonus grew 5.6 percent.
