Major Japanese businesses offer wage hike of over 2%

Major Japanese companies have offered an average wage hike of over 2% for the first time since 2020, according to an initial survey by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren.

Including base pay, workers were given an average monthly raise of 7,430 yen (US$58.2), reports NHK World. 

Wage growth rate reached 2.27% in yen terms, up from last year’s rate of 1.82% in the initial survey. This also marked the first time in four years that workers saw wages rise at a faster pace than the previous year.

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The survey, which covered 81 firms with 500 or more workers, found that 26 of the firms had their earnings returned to pre-pandemic levels. These companies offered an average pay hike of US$76, or 3.02% to workers. 

The Japanese government has been urging businesses that have recovered from the pandemic to raise wages by over 3%.