Overview
- Inflation-adjusted pay fell 2.8% year on year in November, the steepest decline since January and the 11th straight monthly drop.
- Special payments, largely one-off bonuses, plunged about 17% from a year earlier, and officials note preliminary November figures often understate winter bonuses.
- Average total cash earnings rose 0.5% to ¥310,202, marking the slowest nominal wage growth since December 2021.
- Consumer prices increased 3.3% in November, leaving earnings growth trailing inflation and squeezing purchasing power.
- The Bank of Japan lifted its policy rate to 0.75% last month, with the outlook tied to spring negotiations as Rengo seeks at least 5% pay increases.