Increase attributed to the Japan’s recovery from the pandemic

A recent study from Japanese staffing firm Recruit has found that despite slow wage growth in Japan, the average hourly wage for temporary and part-time employees has continued to reach new record highs in recent months. This increase is attributed to the country’s recovery from the pandemic, government demands for wage hikes, and relaxed immigration restrictions.

Recruit’s research focused on the three major metropolitan areas of Kanto, Tokai, and Kansai, where the average hourly wage for temporary staff in February was JPY 1,611 (USD 12.16), up by 2.3% or JPY 36 (USD 0.27) year-over-year. The manufacturing, logistics, cleaning, and IT/technical industries saw particularly high record wages.

Additionally, part-time job recruitment activities in all three major metropolitan areas hit an all-time high, especially in sales and service-related industries due to seasonal spring recruitment. The average hourly wage for part-time employees rose to JPY 1,142 (USD 8.62), up by 2.1% or USD 0.18 from the same month last year.