Average cash earnings in Japan increased by 3.2% year-on-year in May 2026, slowing from an upwardly revised 3.6% rise in the previous month and coming in below market forecasts of 3.4%.
It was the 53rd straight month of growth in nominal wages, though it slowed from the fastest pace in 16 months recorded in April.
Earnings rose across all sectors, including construction (5.2%), manufacturing (3.8%), mining & quarrying (6.3%), utilities (2.1%), information and communications (2.4%), transport and postal services (3.4%), wholesale and retail trade (4.7%), finance and insurance (7.1%), real estate (3.3%), the food industry (1.2%), and education (0.8%).
Meanwhile, inflation-adjusted real wages climbed 1.4% year-on-year in May, marking a fifth straight month of increases and easing from an upwardly revised 2.0% rise in the previous month.
This was the longest stretch of gains in four years.