Real Wage in Japan Down 0.5 Pct in 2013

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)--Wages earned by workers in Japan in 2013 dropped 0.5 pct from the preceding year in price-adjusted real terms, down for the second straight year, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday. The index on real wage stood at 98.9 against 100 for the base year of 2010, the ministry said. The size of the index's decline was slimmer than the 0.7 pct drop in 2012. On a monthly basis, however, the index has continued to fall by 1.0 pct or more year on year since July, indicating that real wage remains sluggish despite recent rises in consumer prices. In 2013, nominal monthly wages averaged 314,150 yen per employee, unchanged from the previous year, after falling for two years in a row. Overtime and bonuses increased on the back of the economic recovery. The average monthly regular wage fell 0.6 pct to 241,338 yen, down for the eighth consecutive year. Nonregular pay including overtime increased 1.8 pct to 19,097 yen, and bonuses grew 2.1 pct to 53,715 yen. The average total wage for full-time employees rose 0.7 pct to 404,743 yen, while that for part-timers fell 0.6 pct to 96,630 yen reflecting a drop in working hours. Part-timers accounted for 29.4 pct of total employees in Japan, up 0.6 percentage point from 2012. The proportion of part-timers has kept rising since statistics began in 1990. Overall wages have been on a downtrend after peaking in 1997 due a rise in the number of in part-timers. The 2013 level of 314,150 yen was 12.8 pct less than the 1997 level. In December alone, the average monthly wage rose 0.8 pct from a year before to 544,836 yen, up for the second straight month, thanks to a rise in winter bonuses amid the economic recovery. The labor survey covers companies with five or more employees. END