Average Monthly Wage in Japan Reaches New High of ¥310,000

A survey conducted in Japan by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has found that the average monthly wage for a full-time worker in 2022 was ¥311,800, a 1.4% year-on-year increase and the highest level since such statistics were first gathered in 1976.

Women’s average wage increased by 2.1% to ¥258,900, while that of men increased by 1.4% to ¥342,000, marking the second consecutive year for women’s earning growth to outpace that of men. The increase in the number of female managers is thought to be one factor behind the rise in women’s wages. For the second consecutive year, the wage gap between men and women was reduced to its narrowest point to date, but women’s wages are still on average only 75.7% those of men.

Looking at the wage curve for men and women shows that wages tend to increase with age for both, peaking out somewhere between age 55 and 59, but the increase in the wage curve for women is slower than that for men. The gap between the peak monthly wage for men and for women is ¥127,000.

Average wages increased year on year by 2.5% to ¥348,300 for employees of large companies, 1.1% to ¥303,000 at medium-sized companies, and 1.6% to ¥284,500 at small companies. By prefecture, Tokyo had the highest average monthly wage at ¥375,500, followed by Kanagawa at ¥335,600 and Osaka at ¥330,900. The lowest average monthly wage was ¥247,600 in Aomori Prefecture.

For the survey, 78,589 companies nationwide were asked in July 2022 about wages for June, with a valid response rate of 70.5%.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)