I wrote here earlier in the week that one of the big changes in Japan is the sense that wages should and will rise in the spring wage round.
The good news is that there are signs that the intense government pressure on companies to put up pay might be beginning to work already.
Base pay rose 0.1% in January. This doesn't sound like much, and it isn't. But given that it is the first rise in the series in two years, it is encouraging – as is the fact that the rise in wages mainly went to the lowest-paid part-time workers.
What next? Keep an eye on wage announcements from the big manufacturers over the next few weeks as the wage negotiations come to an end. They are keen to keep wages down despite the huge profit rises they have seen as the yen has fallen. Everyone I saw last week spoke of wage rises as representing unmanageable increases in fixed costs.
But that might not be a position they find they can hold. Unemployment in Japan is running at only 3.7%, and in a clear sign of labour market tightening, both part-time and full-time employment rose by 1.2% in January.
http://moneyweek.com/merryns-blog/japans-pay-freeze-may-be-about-to-thaw/
The good news is that there are signs that the intense government pressure on companies to put up pay might be beginning to work already.
Base pay rose 0.1% in January. This doesn't sound like much, and it isn't. But given that it is the first rise in the series in two years, it is encouraging – as is the fact that the rise in wages mainly went to the lowest-paid part-time workers.
What next? Keep an eye on wage announcements from the big manufacturers over the next few weeks as the wage negotiations come to an end. They are keen to keep wages down despite the huge profit rises they have seen as the yen has fallen. Everyone I saw last week spoke of wage rises as representing unmanageable increases in fixed costs.
But that might not be a position they find they can hold. Unemployment in Japan is running at only 3.7%, and in a clear sign of labour market tightening, both part-time and full-time employment rose by 1.2% in January.
http://moneyweek.com/merryns-blog/japans-pay-freeze-may-be-about-to-thaw/
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