— Japan July Average Base Wages Unchanged Y/Y Vs June -0.6%
— Japan July Overtime Pay +0.3% Y/Y, 10th Straight Gain
— Japan July Bonuses, Other Special Pay -4.3%, 3rd Straight Fall
TOKYO (MNI) – The total average monthly cash earnings per regular
employee in Japan posted the third straight monthly fall in July, down
1.2% at Y361,928, after -0.4% in June and -1.1% in May, preliminary data
from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released on Tuesday
showed.
A rare drop in overtime working hours led to a much slower increase
in overtime pay while bonuses and other one-off pay remained depressed
compared with a year before, when Japan was trying to recover from the
March 11 earthquake disaster.
Overtime pay posted a 10th straight year-on-year rise but the pace
of increase decelerated sharply to +0.3% in July from +5.1% in June and
+6.9% in May.
Bonuses and other special pay fell 4.3% on year, posting the third
straight monthly drop after -0.8% in June and -35.5% in May.
Meanwhile, average “base wages” — the key indicator for a recovery
in employee earnings — were unchanged from a year earlier in July,
after -0.6% in June and no change in May.
Overtime hours worked in the manufacturing sector rose 1.4% in
July, posting the 14th consecutive monthly gain, but the pace of
increase slowed from +6.1% in June and +12.8% in May.
Compared to the previous month, overtime hours worked at
manufacturers fell 3.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the
first month-on-month drop in two months after +0.3% in June and -3.1% in
May.
Total overtime hours worked for all industries fell 0.8% on year in
July, posting the first fall in 11 months after +1.2% in June and +5.6%
in May.
Total hours worked rose 0.1% y/y in July, posting the first gain in
two months after -0.5% in June and +3.2% in May.
The number of regular workers rose 0.6% y/y in July after +0.9% in
both June and May, maintaining year-over-year growth for over six years
since March 2006.
Regular employees are workers on permanent payrolls as well as
those with part-time status.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-6860-4821 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,MAJDS$,M$A$$$,MT$$$$]
