Japan Real Wages Decline At Fastest Pace Since 2023

(RTTNews) - Japan's real wages logged its biggest fall in 20 months in May, data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed on Monday.

Inflation-adjusted real wages decreased 2.9 percent year-on-year in May, which was sharper than the 2.0 percent fall in April. Moreover, this was the fastest drop since September 2023 and also marked fifth consecutive fall.

At the same time, annual growth in average labor cash earnings halved unexpectedly to 1.0 percent from 2.0 percent a month ago. A similar slower growth was last reported in March 2024. Economists had forecast wage growth to improve to 2.4 percent.

The slowdown in average labor cash earnings was due to the 18.7 percent fall in special payments. Scheduled payments grew at a steady pace of 2.1 percent and overtime pay climbed 1.0 percent.