The average monthly wage hike for major Japanese companies through annual wage talks this spring exceeded 7,000 for the first time in 16 years, the Japan Business Federation said Wednesday.
The hike, including a seniority-based automatic increase and a basic pay rise, rose 1,494 yen year on year to 7,697 yen as earnings growth under the economic recovery coincided with the government’s request for wage hikes, said the business lobby known as Keidanren.
The percentage gain stood at 2.39 percent topping 2 percent for the first time in 15 years.
The average figure was for 41 companies among 240 firms in 20 industrial sectors subjected to a Keidanren survey. Final data will be made available in early June.
The average wage increase rose 2.50 percent to 7,900 yen for the manufacturing sector.
The average hike expanded 3.33 percent from a year earlier to 9,598 yen for the machinery and metal sector and 2.78 percent to 9,225 yen for the auto sector, while that for the food sector narrowed to 1.68 percent from 1.74 percent.
