Japan’s real wages declined by 0.1% year-on-year in September, marking the second consecutive month of decline as wage growth failed to keep pace with rising prices. Government data revealed this on Thursday.

However, inflation-adjusted wages at workplaces with five or more employees showed a slower rate of decline, improving from the 0.8% decrease seen in August. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare indicated that the government’s reinstatement of electricity subsidies helped reduce core consumer prices.

At workplaces with 30 or more employees, real wages rose by 0.6%, reversing a 0.4% decline in August. Nevertheless, a Ministry official stated, “Prices may rise again once the subsidies end.”

Nominal wages (total monthly earnings of workers, including basic salary and overtime pay) increased by 2.8%, reaching 292,551 yen (about $1,890), marking 33 consecutive months of growth.

Excluding bonuses and temporary payments, average wages rose by 2.6% to 264,194 yen, achieving the largest increase in nearly 32 years. In contrast, overtime and other allowances decreased by 0.4% to 19,164 yen.

The monthly nominal wage for full-time employees grew by 2.6% to 372,881 yen, while the average monthly wage for part-time employees increased by 1.8% to 106,903 yen.

The Ministry estimated that consumer prices for the wage data in September rose by 2.9% year-on-year, lower than the 3.5% increase in August.

Japan’s government reintroduced electricity and gas subsidies from August to October to help households struggling with rising energy bills amid the extreme summer heat.

Japan’s real wages had reached a record of 26 consecutive months of decline in May. Although they showed positive growth in July for two months, real wages fell again in August as the impact of summer bonuses waned.