Interesting Bloomberg article regarding the Japan labor cost data from earlier:
- Regular wages excluding overtime and bonuses fell 0.3 percent in September from a year earlier,
- 16th straight month of decline,
- Total cash earnings rose 0.1 percent
“The key for the success of Abenomics is whether companies will raise wages,” Norio Miyagawa, a senior economist at Mizuho Securities Research and Consulting Co. in Tokyo, said
- Wages are falling behind price gains. National consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier, a fourth straight increase.
- Trade union negotiations with management on salaries in talks known as “shunto,” or the spring wage offensive — begin around March next year