TOKYO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan's real wages dropped 2.5 percent in 2023 from the previous year, the sharpest fall since the 2.8 percent decline logged in 2014 when the country raised consumption tax, government data showed Tuesday.
The inflation-adjusted index dropped for the second straight year as wage growth failed to keep up with inflation, according to a preliminary report released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Monthly nominal wages, or the average total cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, rose 1.2 percent to 329,859 yen (2,200 U.S. dollars), the third consecutive annual increase, the data showed.
In December alone, real wages fell 1.9 percent from a year earlier for the 21st consecutive month of decline. ■