Small- and medium-sized firms in Japan offered an average monthly wage increase of 3.62 percent for full-time employees in the 2024 spring wage negotiations, a recent survey showed, falling behind big companies, which offered more than 5 percent.
The rise, which includes annual wage and base increases, amounted to a growth of 9,662 yen ($62) per month, according to the first-ever survey of its kind by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
But it fell below the 5.58 percent hike by major Japanese firms reported by the Japan Business Federation, the country's biggest business lobby, also known as Keidanren.
While many industries have raised pay, real wages have continued to fall as price hikes for everyday goods erode the purchasing power of households.
"It's below what's offered by large corporations, but it's a good number," a representative from the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said while indicating firms must pass rising personnel costs onto their large business partners to ensure continued wage hikes.
Companies with 20 people or less offered a wage increase of 3.34 percent, according to the survey.
By industry, the services sector, barring accommodation, food, and retail, saw the largest increase at 4.57 percent. The lowest pay hike was logged in medical and nursing at 2.19 percent, and those in the transportation sector at 2.52 percent.
A total of 74.3 percent in the survey expressed their intention to raise wages in fiscal 2024, of which 59.1 percent said they would do so, despite a lack of improved business performance, as they try to prevent employees from leaving.
Part-time workers experienced a pay rise of 3.43 percent, as companies likely improved their labor conditions to attract enough personnel while they struggled to raise wages for full-time employees.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the umbrella group of trade unions in Japan known as Rengo, has separately released a survey showing small- to medium-sized firms raised monthly wages by 4.45 percent on average.
The survey by the chamber of commerce was conducted between April 19 and May 17, receiving responses from 1,979 companies with fewer than 300 people. Many of the firms do not have a labor union.
