The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
17:14 JST, September 5, 2024
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The inflation-adjusted real wage index rose 0.4 percent in July from a year earlier, the second straight month of growth due to the spreading effects of salary increases, the Labor Ministry said Thursday.
But the rate of increase fell from 1.1% in June, when bonus payments pushed up wages significantly.
Monthly nominal wages per employee rose 3.6% to an average of ¥403,490 for 31 consecutive months. Of the total, regular wages including basic salary rose 2.7%, the largest increase in 31 years and eight months since November 1992, reflecting historic wage increases agreed upon in this year’s “shunto” spring wage negotiations.
Special rewards including bonuses rose 6.2%, while the growth rate slowed from 7.8% in June.
The consumer price index excluding imputed rent, which is used to calculate the real wage index, rose by 3.2.
The average nominal wage for full-time workers, including permanent employees, rose 3.6% to ¥529,266. That of part-time workers rose 3.9% to ¥114,729. The number of monthly working hours per person rose 0.6%.
A ministry official said it “may become difficult to continue raising real wages” in August as bonuses decline.
Meanwhile, the resumption of government subsidies for electricity and gas from September is expected to push down consumer prices and potentially boost real wages.
