Real wages slide 2.5% in March

Taking a hit: People at the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. The slowdown in Japan’s nominal wages was exacerbated by a 9.4% drop in bonuses. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: Japan’s latest wage figures showed pay gains have now lagged inflation every month for two years even as a measure of the deeper trend points to steady growth.

Real wages fell 2.5% from a year earlier in March, marking the deepest drop in four months and running the streak of declines to exactly 24 months, the labour ministry reported yesterday.