Big pay raises in this year’s salary negotiations saw real wages in Japan rise in June for the first time in 27 months.
The labor ministry says the inflation-adjusted wages were up 1.1 percent from a year earlier.
It says more businesses paid bonuses in June than in the average year.
The figures are from a monthly survey of more than 30,000 businesses with at least five employees.
The labor ministry says the average monthly earnings per worker totaled 498,884 yen, or about 3,440 dollars, in June. That’s up 4.5 percent in yen terms from a year earlier and the sharpest increase in about 27 years.
Of the total, the basic wage was up 2.3 percent, while extra pay including bonuses jumped 7.6 percent.
An official says the ministry will closely watch whether real wages will keep rising as consumer price increases are still expected to continue.