JAPAN TODAY



 

Japan's real wages in March fell 2.1 percent from a year earlier, marking the third consecutive monthly decline, as income growth continued to fall behind price hikes, government data showed Friday.

Nominal wages, or the average total monthly cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, increased 2.1 percent to 308,572 yen, rising for the 39th straight month, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

But consumer prices, used to calculate the pay data, grew 4.2 percent in the reporting month, driven by higher rice and other food prices, although the pace slowed from a 4.3 percent rise in February, according to the ministry.

Separate data showed the country's household spending in March rose a real 2.1 percent from the year before.

Households of two or more people spent an average of 339,232 yen in the reporting month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The data is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product.