— Japan Dec Average Base Wages -0.1% Y/Y, 12th Drop In Row
— Japan Dec Overtime Pay +0.3% Y/Y, 4th Rise In Row; Nov +2.2%
— Japan Dec Special Pay -0.3% Y/Y, 2nd Drop In Row; Nov -1.8%
— Japan 2011 Average Wages -0.2%, 1st Drop In 2 Yrs; 2010 +0.6%
TOKYO (MNI) – The total average monthly cash earnings per regular
employee in Japan remained on a downtrend, falling 0.2% on the year to
Y549,969 in December after slipping at the same rate in November and
being flat in October, preliminary data from the Ministry of Health,
Labor and Welfare released on Wednesday showed.
Hit by the March earthquake disaster and the yen’s rise to record
highs amid slowing global demand, monthly wages dropped from
year-earlier levels in eight of the 12 months last year.
As a result, total wages dipped 0.2% to a monthly average of
Y316,642 in 2011, posting the first fall in two years after +0.6% in
2010 and -3.8% in 2009.
In the past two decades, wage growth from the previous year was
evident through 1997, but employee earnings entered a sudden downtrend
in 1998, showing gains in only four of the 14 years through 2011.
In December, the long slump in base wages and a slight drop in
special pay (bonuses and other irregular earnings) outpaced a modest
gain in overtime pay.
Average base wages — the key indicator of a recovery in employee
earnings — fell 0.1% on year in December, posting the 12th straight y/y
drop after falling 0.3% in November.
Special pay, which was the largest component of total wages in
December due to year-end bonus payments — fell 0.3% y/y, posting the
second consecutive y/y fall after -1.8% in November and +7.4% in
October.
Overtime pay, a small portion of cash earnings, rose 0.3% on year
in December, showing gains for four months in a row after +2.2% in
November and +2.9% in October.
Overtime hours worked in the manufacturing sector rose 2.0% y/y in
December, marking the fourth consecutive rise after +1.3% in November.
Compared to the previous month, overtime hours worked at
manufacturers rose 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, showing the
first m/m gain in two months after -1.3% in November.
Total overtime hours worked for all industries were unchanged from
a year earlier in December after being flat in November and rising 1.0%
in October.
Total hours worked rose 0.2% on year in December, marking the first
y/y rise in four months after falling 0.2% in November.
The number of regular workers rose 0.6% on year in December,
posting the 23rd y/y rise in a row after +0.7% in November.
In 2011, regular employment rose 0.7% from 2010, marking the eight
year of annual gains following +0.3% in the previous year.
Cash earnings include overtime and bonuses. Regular employees are
workers on permanent payrolls as well as those with part-time status.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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