Average cash earnings in Japan jumped by 4.7% year-on-year in August 2026, surpassing market expectations for a 3.9% gain and marking the biggest increase since January 1997. The latest reading was also faster than the upwardly revised 4% rise in July, with total cash earnings reaching ?436,401 per month. Regular pay, including base salaries, increased 4.1% to ?301,582, the fastest growth since April 1992, while special payments such as bonuses surged 6.3% to ?134,819. Overtime pay rose 3.1%, easing from a revised 3.4% gain in June. Wage growth was particularly strong in construction (13.5%), mining (12.6%), transport and postal services (8.3%), information and communications (6.2%), and manufacturing (4.8%), while education and learning support was the only major sector to record a decline, falling 2.2%. Meanwhile, real wages increased 2.4% year-on-year, marking the seventh consecutive month of gains and the strongest increase since May 2021.