Japan's real wages fall 2.1 pct in March

TOKYO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's real wages in March dropped 2.1 percent from a year earlier, falling for a third consecutive month, pressured by price hikes, government data showed Friday.

The decline of inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of consumer purchasing power, followed a revised 1.5 percent fall in February and a 2.8 percent decline in January, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

Consumer prices, which include fresh food prices but not rent costs, grew 4.2 percent year-on-year in March, driven by rising food costs, although the pace slowed from a 4.3 percent gain in February, according to the ministry.

Nominal wages, or total average monthly cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, increased 2.1 percent to 308,572 yen (about 2,100 U.S. dollars), up for the 39th straight month.

Regular pay, or base salary, increased 1.3 percent in March, while overtime pay, a barometer of corporate activity strength, dipped 1.1 percent, marking the first decline in overtime pay since September, the data showed. Enditem