Japan's real wages down for 20th month

Jan 10, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Real wages for wokers in Japan decreased by 3% last November year-on-year, marking a continuous decline for 20 months.

While cash earnings have seen a continuous increase for 23 months, matching the longest record in history, the increase in wages has not kept up with the rise in prices.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare conducts the "Monthly Labour Statistics Survey" targeting over 30,000 business establishments with five or more employees nationwide. The preliminary figures for November of last year have been released, showing that real wages, adjusted for price fluctuations, decreased by 3% compared to the same month of the previous year. This is the 20th consecutive month of negative real wage growth. The total amount of cash earnings, including basic salary and overtime pay, averaged 287,741 yen per person, a 0.2% increase from November of the previous year, continuing the positive trend for 23 months in a row. This 23-month streak of positive cash earnings is the longest since the period from January 1991 to November of the following year.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notes, "The continuation of positive cash earnings is the first in 31 years, and the momentum for wage increases, such as the impact of the spring wage offensive, continues to be strong. However, with the high level of price increases persisting and the continuation of negative real wages, we want to keep a close eye on the price situation going forward."

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