TOKYO :Japanese real wages fell for a fourth consecutive month in April, eroded by stubborn inflation that has continued to outpace pay hikes delivered so far by companies, government data showed on Thursday.
The wage data adds to concerns about Japan’s growth outlook at a time U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs stir uncertainty about the global economy.
Japanese policymakers and analysts are concerned global trade tensions may offset the pay hike momentum and complicate the Bank of Japan’s efforts to normalise monetary policy.
Inflation-adjusted real wages, a key determinant of households’ purchasing power, slumped 1.8 per cent in April from a year earlier after a revised 1.8 per cent drop in March and 1.5 per cent fall in February, labour ministry data showed.
The consumer inflation rate the ministry uses to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but not rent costs, eased slightly to 4.1 per cent year-on-year in April from 4.2 per cent in March but stayed around 4 per cent for five months in a row.
“While wages are steadily rising, prices remain high,” said a labour ministry official.
Regular pay, or base salary, rose 2.2 per cent in April, the fastest pace in four months. Overtime pay edged up 0.8 per cent, reversing a decline in March, while special payments grew 4.1 per cent.
Total average cash earnings, or nominal pay, increased 2.3 per cent to 302,453 yen ($2,098.04) in April, the same as a revised increase in March.
Major Japanese firms on average agreed to more than 5 per cent pay hikes during annual spring wage talks in March. While some of those were already implemented in April, the labour ministry official said the newly agreed pay hikes would be gradually reflected in future wage data.
($1 = 144.1600 yen)
