Japan plans to channel BOJ ETF sale proceeds into growth spending
The central bank raised annual ETF sales to 860 billion yen from 330 billion yen as the government seeks revenue beyond taxes and borrowing.
Japan's real wage growth accelerates to 2.2% in September
Nominal pay rose 4.6%, the strongest increase since January 1997, while the labor ministry attributed a jump in special payments to a statistical quirk.
Inflation-adjusted earnings in Japan increased for a ninth consecutive month in September, advancing 2.2% compared with a year earlier, government data issued November 6 showed. That followed a revised increase of 1.6% for August.
Average total cash earnings reached ¥311,409 as nominal wage growth accelerated to 4.6%, its strongest pace since January 1997. August's increase was revised to 3.9%. Regular salaries grew 3.7% in September, following 3.8% in August. A labor ministry official linked the improvement in inflation-adjusted earnings partly to steady base-pay increases during the year.
The ministry cautioned that September's 32.6% rise in special payments, which largely comprise volatile one-time bonuses, was a statistical quirk rather than an actual increase in bonuses or other payments. Those payments had risen a revised 1.8% in August. Overtime earnings increased 3.6%, a slower pace than August's revised 4.9%.
Inflation on the measure the ministry uses to adjust wages reached 2.4% in September, compared with 2.2% in August and 3.4% a year earlier. Separate figures for October showed annual core inflation in Tokyo remained well above the Bank of Japan's 2% target.