Japan's labor cash earnings decreased modestly in January, after recording growth for two months in a row, preliminary figures published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare revealed Tuesday.
Total cash earnings in business establishments with five or more employees declined 0.2 percent in January from the corresponding month of last year.
This followed increases of 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent respectively in December and November. The December growth rate was revised down from 0.8 percent.
Contractual cash earnings advanced 0.4 percent annually in January, reversing December's 0.2 percent decrease.
Data showed that the total number of hours worked climbed 1.4 percent year-on-year in January, which was significantly faster than the 0.1 percent gain seen in the prior month.
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