TOKYO, Mar 8 (NNN-NHK) – Real wages of Japanese workers fell by 4.1 percent in Jan, from a year earlier, after being adjusted for inflation, the largest decrease in nearly nine years, government data showed yesterday.
According to the data, released by the Labour Ministry, the real wage index, a barometer of households’ purchasing power, marked the 10th straight month of drop, and the biggest since May 2014, as prices rose faster than wages.
Nominal wages increased by a smaller 0.8 percent to 276,857 yen, or about 2,000 U.S. dollars, per worker, much weaker than a revised 4.1 percent growth in Dec, data showed.
Overtime pay, a gauge of business activity strength, was up 1.1 percent, its weakest growth in 22 months, while bonuses fell by 1.7 percent.
Labour Ministry officials said that, prices are still rising, and they will be watching the outcome of spring wage talks, between labour and the management.– NNN-NHK
