TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan's real wages in August declined for a 17th straight month, government data showed on Friday, as persistent price hikes continued to outpace salaries.
Separate data on Friday showed Japan's consumer spending also shrank for the sixth consecutive month in August, squeezing consumers' purchasing power even as major companies offered their biggest pay increases in three decades.
The consumer inflation rate officials use to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but excludes rent, slowed to 3.7%, the lowest in 11 months.
Base salary growth in August climbed 1.6% year-on-year, from a revised 1.4% gain in the previous month, the data showed.
"As import prices settle down, the growth rate of consumer inflation is also expected to gradually narrow, and real wages will also recover," Koike said.
Persons:
Masato Koike, Fumio Kishida, Sompo's Koike, Koike, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro, Christian Schmollinger, Sam Holmes
Organizations:
Global, Bank of Japan, Sompo, Ministry of Health, Labour, Welfare, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO, Base