Large Firms’ Monthly Pay Rises 5.37%, Third Straight Year Above 5%

Overview

• Keidanren’s final compilation of this year’s spring labour offensive shows the average monthly pay at large private firms rose 5.37 percent, a figure that includes both scheduled pay-step increases and negotiated base-pay raises.
• The average monthly increase amounted to about ¥19,752 per worker in the Mainichi report, and the tally under the current method is the highest since the series began in 1976.
• Coverage points to healthy corporate earnings and ongoing worker shortages as the main drivers that encouraged large employers to raise pay more generously this year.
• The Keidanren figure covers only large companies and combines regular raises with base-pay gains, so it does not directly represent wage trends among small and medium-sized firms or all workers nationwide.
• Sustained multi-year pay rises could boost household incomes and spending but may also feed into inflation expectations and shape upcoming discussions on minimum wage and further labour negotiations.