Japan’s real wages fall 0.1 pct in September, down for 2 straight months

TOKYO, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Japan’s real wages fell 0.1 percent in September from a year earlier, down for the second consecutive month, as wage growth failed to keep pace with price increases, government data showed Thursday.
Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of consumer purchasing power, decreased at a slower rate, compared with a revised 0.8 percent drop in August, as price gains slowed after the government resumed subsidies to reduce household gas and electricity bills, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Nominal wages, the average monthly cash earnings per worker including base pay, overtime and bonuses, rose 2.8 percent to 292,551 yen (about 1,890 U.S. dollars) in September, growing for the 33rd consecutive month, the ministry reported.
Base pay, or regular pay, climbed 2.6 percent to 264,194 yen, the biggest rise in nearly 32 years, while overtime pay, a barometer of corporate strength, fell 0.4 percent at 19,164 yen, the preliminary data showed.
The consumer price index, excluding imputed rent, used to calculate the real wage index, was up 2.9 percent, decelerating from 3.5 percent in a month prior, a slowdown attributed to the resumption of government subsidies for utility bills. (1 yen equals 0.0065 USD) ■