TOKYO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's average monthly wages in inflation-adjusted terms logged the 23rd straight month of decline in February as price increases continued to outpace nominal earnings growth, official data showed on Monday.

Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of consumer purchasing power, fell 1.3 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Nominal monthly earnings, including base pay and overtime, rose 1.8 percent from a year ago to reach 282,265 yen (about 1,859.8 U.S. dollars).

Regular pay including basic salary in February went up 2.0 percent year on year, while overtime pay, a gauge of business activity, went down 1.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index excluding imputed rent, used to calculate the real wage index, grew 3.3 percent year on year, the preliminary data showed.

Separate data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Friday showed household spending in Japan declined year on year for the eighth straight month.

Analysts here noted that with prices at historically high levels and real wages falling for the past two years, people's lives are becoming increasingly tight and the recovery of personal consumption spending may take longer than expected. Enditem

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