Did you hear the one about slow (no) wage growth? japan sure has:
April Labour Cash Earnings +0.8% y/y
- expected +1.3% y/y, prior +2.0%
But …. Real cash earnings 0.0% y/y
- expected +0.1%, prior +0.7% (ps. that prior result was the first growth in 4 months)
Slow growth in pay is a weight on consumer spending and thus the economy.
More:
Regular pay (accounts for the bulk of monthly wages) +1.2% y/y (prior also +1.2%)
- Overtime pay + 1.9% for April (+2.2% prior)
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BOJ and Japan's govmt would like to see a faster pace for wage growth … as this data is it shows no potential BOJ exit from extraordinary easing policy.
