Japan's real wages climb 1.5% in August, marking eighth straight month of growth

Japan's labour market continued its recovery in August, with real wages up 1.5% year-on-year, the eighth month in a row of growth, according to official figures. Total cash earnings rose 3.8% to 311,364 yen, matching the revised July increase, and base salaries also rose 3.8%. Overtime compensation accelerated to a 5.2% rise, outpacing the 4.5% gain recorded in July.

By contrast, special payments, mainly one-off bonuses, showed no change after a 5.3% increase the month before. The inflation rate applied to the real-wage index remained unchanged at 2.2%, still lower than the 3.1% level a year earlier. Meanwhile, core inflation in the capital surged in September at its fastest pace in ten months, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of Japan will keep raising its benchmark rate.