— Japan Feb Average Total Wages +0.7% Y/Y Vs Jan -0.9%
— Japan Feb Average Base Wages +0.7% Y/Y, 1st Rise In 4 Years
— Japan Feb Overtime Pay +3.4% Y/Y, 5th Straight Rise
— Japan Bonus, Other Special Pay -17.7% Y/Y Vs Jan -19.6%
— Japan 2011 Year-End Bonus -1.9% Y/Y, 3rd Drop In Row

TOKYO (MNI) – The total average monthly cash earnings per regular
employee in Japan posted the first year-on-year rise in nine months in
February on leap-year effects, up 0.7% at Y265,497, after falling 0.9%
in January (revised down from being flat), preliminary data from the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare released on Tuesday showed.

The ministry said it has revised the recent historical data after
shuffling sample firms in its January survey.

Base wages posted the first year-on-year rise in nearly four years
(46 months) and overtime pay marked a fifth straight gain, offsetting a
slump in bonuses and other one-off pay.

But a ministry official warned that the February figures were
pushed up sharply by two extra working days in a leap year, compared
with a year earlier.

Total wages have remained weak since the March 11 earthquake
disaster as the economy was also hit by the yen’s surge to record highs
last year and slower global demand.

But there are signs of a gradual recovery in Japan as companies
have overcome the drag from last year’s supply chain breakdown in
flood-hit Thailand. Stock market rallies and the pullback of the yen’s
rise are supporting consumer and business confidence.

Average “base wages” — the key indicator for a recovery in
employee earnings — rose 0.7% on year in February after -0.1% (revised
from +0.3) in January.

Overtime pay posted a fifth straight gain, up 3.4% on year in
February after +2.9% (revised from +1.2%) in January, maintaining an
uptrend and leading gradual improvement in wages.

Bonuses and other special pay tumbled 17.7% in February, posting
the second y/y drop in a row following -19.6% (revised from -5.3%) in
January.

Overtime hours worked in the manufacturing sector rose 0.3% in
February, posting the ninth consecutive monthly gain after +0.8%
(revised from +1.5%) in January.

Compared to the previous month, overtime hours worked at
manufacturers rose 4.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis, showing the
first month-on-month gain in two months after -0.8% (revised from +2.3%)
in January.

Total overtime hours worked for all industries fell 1.4% on the
year in February, showing the second consecutive drop after -0.3%
(revised from +1.0%) in January.

Total hours worked jumped 3.0% y/y in February on leap-year
effects, posting the first gain in two months after -0.3% (revised from
+0.1%) in January.

The number of regular workers rose 0.5% y/y in February, up for 72
months in a row after an unrevised +0.5% in January.

Regular employees are workers on permanent payrolls as well as
those with part-time status.

Meanwhile, year-end bonus stood at Y372,471, down 1.9% on year in
2011, marking the third consecutive yearly drop after -0.4% in 2010 and
-9.4% in 2009.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4437 **

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