Average cash earnings in Japan jumped by 4.7% year-on-year in July 2026, surpassing market expectations for a 3.9% gain and marking the biggest increase since January 1997. The latest reading was also faster than the upwardly revised 4% rise in June and remained above 3% for the sixth straight month, the longest streak in thirty four years. Regular pay, including base salaries, increased 4.1% to ¥301,582, the fastest growth since April 1992, while special payments such as bonuses surged 6.3% to ¥134,819. Overtime pay rose 3.1%, easing from a revised 3.4% gain in June. Wage growth was particularly strong in construction (13.5%), mining (12.6%), transport and postal services (8.3%), information and communications (6.2%), and manufacturing (4.8%), while education and learning support was the only major sector to record a decline, falling 2.2%. Meanwhile, real wages increased 2.4% year-on-year, marking the seventh consecutive month of gains and the strongest increase since May 2021. source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan
Wages in Japan increased 4.70 percent in July of 2026 over the same month in the previous year. Wage Growth in Japan averaged 2.99 percent from 1972 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 35.02 percent in July of 1974 and a record low of -7.10 percent in June of 2009. This page provides - Japan Wage Growth- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Japan Average Cash Earnings YoY - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2026.
Wages in Japan increased 4.70 percent in July of 2026 over the same month in the previous year. Wage Growth in Japan is expected to be 4.00 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Japan Average Cash Earnings YoY is projected to trend around 2.70 percent in 2027 and 3.50 percent in 2028, according to our econometric models.