According to the revised report by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, real wages per worker grew 0.4 percent from the previous year.

While wages increased in nominal terms, prices remained unchanged.

Total nominal monthly wages, including regular wages, overtime pay and bonuses, increased 0.4 percent to 315,452 yen on average, up for the third straight year.

Regular wages rose 0.2 percent to 240,360 yen, while bonuses and other types of special pay increased 1.9 percent to 55,615 yen. By contrast, nonregular pay, chiefly overtime, fell 0.6 pct to 19,477 yen due to a decline in after-hours work.

Nominal monthly pay went up 0.8 percent to 412,130 yen for full-time workers, but inched down 0.4 percent to 97,526 yen for part-timers.

In March alone, per-worker real wages declined 0.3 percent from a year before, posting the first drop in two months. Nominal pay leveled off. (Jiji Press)