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REPEAT: MNI: Japan Oct Wages Revised Down Sharply

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 06:34 GMT Dec 22/01:34 EST Dec 22
--Japan Oct Average Wages Revised +0.2% Y/Y Vs Initial +0.6%
--Japan Oct Real Average Wages Revised -0.1% Y/Y Vs +0.2%
--Japan Oct Base Wages Revised +0.3% Y/Y Vs +0.7%
--Japan Oct Overtime Pay Revised -0.1% Y/Y Vs +0.2%
--Japan Oct Special Pay Revised +0.2% Y/Y Vs -0.5%
     TOKYO (MNI) - Revised average wage data from the Monthly Labour Survey
released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on Friday.
     * Total monthly average cash earnings per regular employee in Japan rose
0.2% on year to Y267,433 in October, revised down sharply from the initial
reading of a 0.6% rise to Y268,392. It was still the third straight year-on-year
rise after +0.9% in September, but real wages continued to drop.
     * In real terms, average wages fell 0.1% on year, revised down from the
preliminary 0.2% rise. It was the fifth consecutive year-on-year decline after
sliding at the same pace in the previous four months, instead of the first y/y
rise in 10 months as reported earlier. Real wages last posted a year-on-year
rise (+0.1%) in December 2016. The weak trend was caused by the recent increase
in the cost of living.
     * In October, the decline in real wages was limited compared to the slight
nominal gain because fresh food prices slumped on year, pushing down the rate of
increase in the total CPI. The government uses the total CPI minus imputed rents
to calculate real wages. The price index rose only 0.3% on year in October
following a 0.9% increase in September.
     * Base wages, the key to a recovery in cash earnings, rose 0.3% in October
from a year earlier, the seventh straight year-on-year rise after +0.7% in
September. It was revised down from a preliminary 0.7% rise. Hourly base wages
of regular employees working part time gained 2.1% (revised down from +2.3%) on
year after +2.3% in the previous month while base wages for full-time workers
rose a modest 0.3% (revised from +0.5%) on year.
     * Overtime pay fell 0.1% on year in October, revised down from the initial
estimate of a 0.2% rise. It was the first year-on-year drop in four months after
rising 1.2% in September. Overtime working hours rose an unrevised 0.7% on year
for the 10th straight rise after +1.5% in September while regular working hours
gained 0.7% (also unrevised) on year, the first increase in five months after
falling 0.2% in the previous month.
     * Bonuses and other special pay rose 0.2% from a year before, revised up
from the 0.5% drop reported earlier. It was the third straight year-on-year rise
after +10.6% in September.
     * Japanese policymakers have been urging firms to share more profits with
workers but firms remain cautious about raising base wages amid uncertainty over
the outlook for global and domestic demand.
--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-4670-5309; email: max.sato@marketnews.com

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