–Japan Mar Average Wages -0.4% Y/Y Vs Feb +0.3%
–Japan Govt Excluding Some Quake-Hit Area Data In Mar, Apr
–Japan Mar Avg Base Wages -0.9%; 3rd Drop In Row; Feb -0.4%
–Japan Mar Real Avg Wages -0.5% Y/Y Vs Feb +0.1%
–Japan Mar Bonuses, Other Special Pay +7.6% Y/Y Vs Feb +36.3%
–Japan Mar Regular Jobs +0.8% Y/Y, 14th Rise In Row
–Japan Mar Overtime Hours Worked -2.0% Y/Y Vs Feb +3.0%
–Japan Mar Total Hours Worked -1.6% Y/Y Vs Feb -0.2%

TOKYO (MNI) – The total nominal average monthly cash earnings per
regular employee in Japan fell a preliminary 0.4% year-on-year to
Y274,886 in March, posting the first y/y drop in 13 months, hit by the
March 11 earthquake disaster, data from the Ministry of Health, Labor
and Welfare released on Monday showed.

Factory operations were slashed by rolling blackouts imposed by
Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tokyo suburbs and neighbouring cities while
the quake and tsunami wrecked supply chains, forcing all major
automakers to suspend production in March.

“The March data showed the impact of the earthquake disaster, with
lower hours worked leading to lower wages,” said a ministry official
said. “We will probably see its effects on regular employment in the
coming months as lost jobs did not seem be to reflected in the data
yet.”

The ministry is excluding some wages and working hours data from
the three northern prefecture hit hardest by the March 11 earthquake
disaster — Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima — from its Monthly Labor Survey
for March and April data (plus May for Miyagi).

This means that the total average monthly cash earnings per regular
employee in Japan could show figures that are higher than what they
really are. Wage levels in those provinces tend to be below the national
average.

In March a slump in “base” wages, which was caused by a sharper
drop in scheduled hours worked, more than offset modest gains in
overtime pay and special pay, which comprises mostly seasonal bonuses.

“Base wages” — the key indicator for a recovery — fell 0.9% on
year, showing the third straight monthly y/y drop, following -0.4% in
February and -0.5% in January.

Average base wages are scheduled cash earnings at surveyed
companies that employ five or more people.

Bonuses and other special pay rose 7.6% in March, posting the third
consecutive monthly y/y gain, following +36.3% in February.

Meanwhile, overtime pay rose 1.0% on year, decelerating from +4.4%
in February but still posting the 15th straight y/y rise.

Overtime hours worked in the manufacturing sector posted the first
y/y drop in 16 months in March, down by 0.8%, after rising 8.2% in
February and posting the record growth of 57.3% in March 2010.

Overtime hours had recovered steadily from the record drop of 48.9%
in March 2009, led by the automobile and electronics sectors. This has
pushed up the level of overtime pay.

From the previous month, overtime hours worked in the manufacturing
sector dropped 6.8%% on a seasonally adjusted basis, posting the first
decline in five months.

Total overtime hours worked for all industries fell 2.0% in March,
after +3.0% in February, showing the first y/y drop in 15 months. The
4.4% gain in January 2010 was the first year-on-year rise in 18 months.

Three years of steady job creation until April 2009 were replaced
by job losses or flat employment levels through the end of 2009, but the
latest data have indicated a recovery in the labor market, at least
before the March 11 disaster.

The number of regular workers rose 0.8% in March after +0.7% in
February, marking the 14th straight y/y rise. The gain in February 2010
was the first y/y rise in 10 months since +0.3% in April 2009.

Cash earnings include overtime and bonuses. Regular employees are
workers on permanent payrolls as well as those with part-time status.

In inflation adjusted terms, the total average cash earnings showed
the first fall in three months, down 0.5% on year, after rising 0.1% in
February.

The real average wages have recovered from the record drop of 5.2%
marked in June 2009.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4437 **

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