Japan real wages fall for 16th straight month in July
TOKYO (Reuters) — Japanese real wages extended their fall to a 16th consecutive month in July, government data showed on Friday, as salaries failed to keep up with rising prices.
Global financial markets closely follow wage trends in the world's third largest economy as the Bank of Japan emphasises sustainable wage rises as a prerequisite for deciding whether and how to pull the plug on its ultra-loose monetary stimulus.
Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of consumers' purchasing power, slid 2.5% in July from a year earlier following a 1.6% slump in the month before.
The consumer price index officials use to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but excludes owners' equivalent rent, remained flat at 3.9%.
Workers at major Japanese companies saw an almost 4% increase in wages this year, according to a survey by business lobby Keidanren.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ramped up efforts to nudge companies into boosting wages. He said earlier this month the government would accelerate efforts on compiling new stimulus steps to cushion the economic blow from rising inflation.
Nominal pay growth in July slowed to 1.3%, after a 2.3% jump in June and 2.9% hike in May, which marked the fastest growth in nearly three decades.
July's base annual salary went up 1.6%, an improvement from June's revised 1.3% increase.
Overtime pay, a gauge of business activity strength, rose 0.5% after a revised 1.9% uptick in June.
Special payments climbed 0.6% in July from a 3.5% gain the month prior, although the indicator tends to be volatile in months outside the twice-a-year bonus seasons of November to January and June to August.
Separate data from earlier this week showed Japanese household spending in July
Read more on investing.com
