Japan’s real wages rose 1.5% in August from a year earlier, marking the eighth consecutive month of gains, government data showed on Wednesday, pointing to a continued recovery in wage growth.
- The solid wage data supports the case for the Bank of Japan to continue raising interest rates after hiking its benchmark rate last month.
- The growth in real pay was slower than July’s revised 2.0% gain.
- Average nominal wages, or total cash earnings, rose 3.8% to 311,364 yen ($1,969.66), slower than a revised 4.3% increase in July.
- Workers’ base salaries, or regular pay, increased 3.8%, unchanged from a revised 3.8% rise in July. Overtime pay growth in August stood at 5.2%, up from July’s revised 4.5% rise.
- Special payments, consisting mostly of one-time bonuses that tend to be volatile, showed no growth in August after a revised 5.3% increase in July.
- The inflation rate used by the ministry to calculate the headline real wage indicator remained unchanged from July at 2.2%. It remained below year-earlier levels, when it stood at 3.1%.
- Annual core inflation in Japan’s capital accelerated in September at its fastest pace in 10 months, data showed last week, highlighting mounting price pressures and bolstering the case for further interest rate hikes from the central bank.
($1 = 158.0800 yen)
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(Reporting by Hina Suzuki; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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