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MNI DATA IMPACT: Japan Apr Wages Dn; Real Pay Negative

MNI (London)
--Japan Apr Average Wages -0.6% Y/Y; 1st Drop in 4 Months 
--Japan Apr Real Average Wages -0.7% Y/Y; 2nd Straight Drop
     TOKYO (MNI) - Average Japanese wages fell 0.6% y/y in April, recording a
first drop in four months, with real wages remaining in negative territory,
preliminary data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
showed.
     Here are the key points from the Monthly Labour Survey:
     --Total monthly average cash earnings per regular employee fell 0.6% y/y to
Y275,022 in April, for a first drop in four months following a 0.1% rise in
March.
     --In real terms, average wages fell 0.7% y/y in April, the second straight
drop following a 0.3% decline in March. Total CPI minus impute rents rose 0.1%
y/y, slowing from +0.5% in March.
     --Base wages, the key to a steady recovery in cash earnings, were unchanged
from a year earlier after rising 0.4% in March.
     --Overtime pay fell 12.2% y/y in April following a 0.4% fall previously.
The decrease was mainly due to a drop in overtime working hours amid a slowing
economy triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Bonuses and other special pay
rose 10.6% y/y in April, for the first rise in two months following March's 0.5%
fall.
     --The government didn't offer its monthly assessment, only saying that
working hours fell in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus.
--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hiroshi.inoue@marketnews.com
--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: MAJDS$,M$A$$$,M$J$$$]
MNI London Bureau | +44 203-865-3812 | les.commons@marketnews.com
MNI London Bureau | +44 203-865-3812 | les.commons@marketnews.com

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