Japan's real wages rose 2.2% YoY in September, the ninth consecutive monthly
increase and faster than August's 1.6%, supporting the case for the Bank of
Japan to continue raising rates. Average nominal wages increased 4.6% YoY to
311,409 yen, the fastest pace since January 1997 and above August's 3.9%.
Regular (base) pay rose 3.7% YoY (vs 3.8% in August). Overtime pay growth slowed
to 3.6% from a revised 4.9% in August. Special payments, led by lump-sum
bonuses, jumped 32.6% in September (August 1.8%); the Ministry of Health, Labour
and Welfare said this spike reflects a statistical anomaly rather than higher
bonus payouts. The inflation rate used to calculate the real-wage series
accelerated from 2.2% in August to 2.4% in September, still below last year's
3.4%.
