Japan's real wages in March decreased for the 24th consecutive month, the longest decline since comparable data became available in 1991, falling 2.5 percent from the same month a year earlier, government data showed Thursday.
Real wage growth, seen as crucial for Japan to completely emerge from its long fight against deflation, has lagged behind price hikes, eroding households' purchasing power as prices for everyday goods have continued rising due to high raw material costs and a weak yen.
The latest losing streak surpasses the one logged between September 2007 and July 2009, around the time of the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of U.S. securities firm Lehman Brothers.
Nominal wages, the average total monthly cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, grew 0.6 percent to 301,193 yen ($1,940), up for the 27th straight month, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The data came after the annual labor-management wage talks in the spring saw the most favorable outcome in three decades for workers at major companies, while Finance Ministry data shows only around 20 percent of small and medium-sized companies raised pay by more than 5 percent.
"The results of the 'shunto' wage negotiations were not reflected in the March data," a labor ministry official said.
With the results likely to be included in the April figures at the earliest, the focus would be on whether real wages will turn positive for the first time in two years.
The consumer price index, used to calculate real wages, climbed 3.1 percent in the reporting month, far surpassing the 0.6 percent gain in nominal wages.
By sector, monthly pay in services related to people's daily lives saw the largest increase of 5.4 percent, while the mining and quarrying sector saw the sharpest fall of 11.6 percent.
Excluding bonuses and nonscheduled payments, average wages rose 1.5 percent to 279,234 yen, while overtime and other allowances were down 1.5 percent at 19,703 yen, the data showed.
The average monthly nominal wages of full-time workers grew 0.8 percent to 386,795 yen, while those of part-time workers increased 2.5 percent to 108,036 yen.
Total working hours per worker fell 2.7 percent from a year earlier to 136.2.
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