The average summer bonus among major companies will rise 3.74 percent from last year to ¥927,415 for the fourth straight increase, according to a preliminary report by Keidanren.
The growth reflects a rise in the number of companies linking employee bonuses to corporate earnings, the nation’s biggest business lobby said Tuesday.
In this spring’s shunto nationwide pay negotiations, companies were inclined to increase bonuses, rather than pay scales, due to the uncertain economic outlook.
The first report on summer bonuses for this year covers 95 of the 245 companies with at least 500 workers that are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s first section. Keidanren will release the final result in late July.
The summer 2016 average is the third highest for any first-of-the-year reading on record, next to the summer 2008 level of ¥930,329, which was announced before the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers that September which triggered a global financial crisis.
Of the 14 industry sectors, the average for automakers is the highest, rising 3.45 percent to ¥1.07 million, topping ¥1 million for the third consecutive year.
The average for nonmanufacturers jumped 15.77 percent, reflecting bonus hikes at power companies.
Meanwhile, the average bonus fell in six sectors, including steel mills, nonferrous metals producers and shipbuilders, due to sluggish commodity prices.
news source: japantimes.co.jp
