MNI BRIEF: Japan Sept Negative Real Wage Narrows
MNI (TOKYO) - The inflation-adjusted real wage, a barometer of households' purchasing power, held within negative territory for the second straight month in September, but narrowed to -0.1% from August’s -0.8%, preliminary data released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on Thursday showed.
Bank of Japan officials expect real wage to turn positive gradually as nominal wages continue to rise, supporting private consumption. (See MNI POLICY: BOJ Wants FY25 Base-Pay Hikes Above 3%)
Real wages turned positive in June for the first time in 27 months, up 1.1% in June and +0.3% in July.
Total CPI minus imputed rents rose 2.9% y/y in September, slowing from 3.5% in August.
Scheduled earnings rose 2.6% y/y in September after rising 2.4% in August and total cash earnings, or nominal wages, posted a 2.8% year-on-year gain in September, unchanged from August’s 2.8%.
Overtime pay fell 1.4% y/y in September after rising 1.4% in August and bonuses and other special pay rose 16.1% y/y in September following August’s 12.0%.