The average monthly wage fell 2.1 percent to 343,125 yen in fiscal 2002, the biggest drop in 11 years, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.

The drop is the largest since fiscal 1991, the latest year for which comparable data are available, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

In the fiscal year that ended March 31, special pay, including bonuses, averaged 64,127 yen a month, down 7.3 percent for the biggest drop on record, the ministry said.

The findings suggest deflation is taking a toll on wages, making it likely that sluggish consumer spending will continue.

The data cover businesses that employ five or more workers.

The average amount of monthly overtime hours increased 3.1 percent to 9.7 hours and that at manufacturers, a key measure of economic activity, jumped 11 percent to 14 hours, the ministry said.

The number of workers on permanent payrolls fell 1.8 percent to 33,547,000 for the fifth straight annual dip. The decline was the largest on record.

In contrast, the number of part-time workers rose 3.6 percent, signaling that corporations are employing more part-time workers to cut labor costs.

In March alone, the average wage fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 298,733 yen for the 23rd consecutive monthly drop, the ministry said.

The average overtime rose 14.4 percent to 15.1 hours for the 11th straight monthly gain, it said.