Japan Aug. Real Wages Down for 8th Month

Tokyo, Oct. 8 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage index fell 1.4 pct year-on-year in August, down for the eighth straight month amid continuous inflation outpacing wage growth, a labor ministry report showed Tuesday. According to the preliminary report covering businesses with five or more employees, nominal wages per worker, including base salary and overtime, climbed 1.5 pct to 300,517 yen, marking the 44th consecutive month of growth. Of them, regular pay, primarily base salary, rose 2.1 pct to 268,202 yen, up for the 46th consecutive month. Meanwhile, the consumer price index excluding imputed rent, used to calculate the real wage index, increased 3.1 pct, outpacing the nominal wage growth. For international comparisons, the ministry also released a real wage index calculated using the consumer price index including imputed rent. This wage index dropped 1.2 pct, the first decline in two months. By employment type, nominal wages for full-time workers, such as regular employees, grew 1.9 pct to 385,804 yen, while those for part-time workers went up 1.6 pct to 111,635 yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]