Wages fell at their fastest pace on record in June as companies cut bonuses to protect dwindling profits, adding to evidence that consumers are unlikely to contribute to an economic recovery.
Monthly wages including overtime and bonuses dropped 7.1 percent from a year earlier to ¥430,620, the sharpest decline since the survey began in 1990, the labor ministry said Monday. Bonuses shrank 14.5 percent.
Companies from Sharp Corp. to Sony Corp. are posting losses amid Japan's worst postwar recession. The unemployment rate rose to a six-year record of 5.4 percent in June, weighing on households, whose outlays account for more than half of the economy.