Inflation-adjusted real wage index falls for 26th consecutive month in May

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The inflation-adjusted real wage index fell 1.4 percent in May from a year earlier, extending a record 26-month streak of wage declines, the Labor Ministry said Monday.

The pace of decline accelerated from 1.2% in April, while wage growth remained below inflation.

Nominal wages per employee, including regular and irregular payments, averaged ¥297,151 in May, up 1.9 percent. Of the total, regular pay, including basic salary, grew 2.5 percent, the strongest increase in 31 years, mainly due to wage increases agreed upon in the “shunto” negotiations between employers and employees in the spring.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index excluding imputed rent, which is used to calculate the real wage index, rose by 3.3%, more than the 2.9% increase.

The average nominal wage rose 2.1% to ¥378,803 for full-time workers and 3.2% to ¥108,511 for part-time workers.

Working hours per person rose by 1.2% to an average of 137.1 hours among all employees. Regular working hours rose by 1.3%, while overtime fell by 1.0%.