Every month, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes the Monthly Labour Survey. The preliminary report for August 2026 was published on October 7, 2026. It is in Japanese.
The first figure on its first page is total cash earnings per worker: ¥311,364, up 3.8% from August of last year.
Lower on the same page are two real wage figures. One is up 1.5%. The other is up 1.9%. Each belongs to a different price index.
We are going to read that page. This is not investment advice, and we take no view on whether any of this is good or bad. We are translating a government statistics release.
Two notes at the top of the page
Figures in brackets are changes from the same month a year earlier. And unless stated otherwise, the results are for establishments with 5 or more employees (断りのない限り事業所規模５人以上の結果).
Nominal wages, average per worker
The first section is headed "nominal wages (average per worker)". For all types of employment, in August 2026:
- Total cash earnings (現金給与総額), establishments with 5 or more employees: ¥311,364 — +3.8%
- Total cash earnings, establishments with 30 or more employees: ¥344,966 — +3.7%
The glossary attached to the press release defines total cash earnings as what the employer pays the worker in cash, before income tax and social insurance premiums are deducted. It is the sum of two parts.
- Contractual cash earnings (きまって支給する給与), paid under conditions set in advance: ¥298,358 — +3.9%
- Within that, scheduled earnings (所定内給与): ¥277,861 — +3.8%
- Special cash earnings (特別に支払われた給与), which include bonuses: ¥13,006 — the page says this is level with the same month a year earlier
298,358 + 13,006 = 311,364. That sum is our arithmetic, and it matches the printed total.
Two groups, listed separately
The page then gives total cash earnings for two groups.
- General workers (一般労働者), as the page calls them: ¥399,849 — +3.7%
- Part-time workers (パートタイム労働者): ¥115,905 — +4.1%
- Part-time workers, hourly pay based on scheduled earnings: ¥1,472 — +4.3%
Real wages: two lines, two price indexes
The second section is headed "real wage index", with the average of 2020 set to 100. It has two lines, and each uses a different consumer price index. In both, the wage being deflated is total cash earnings.
- Deflated by the consumer price index for all items, less imputed rent of owner-occupied housing (持家の帰属家賃を除く総合): index 83.7 — +1.5% from a year earlier. For reference, the page prints the change in that price index: +2.2%.
- Deflated by the consumer price index for all items (総合): index 85.6 — +1.9% from a year earlier. For reference, that price index: +2.0%.
So 1.5% belongs to the index without imputed rent, and 1.9% to the all-items index.
The press release glossary explains the method. Real wages are calculated by dividing the nominal wage index by the consumer price index. Imputed rent, it says, is the rent that would be paid if an owned home were regarded as a rented one.
A note on the first page gives the purpose of each. The version without imputed rent is used to show the purchasing power of wages, and is limited to goods and services that are actually traded. The all-items version is used for international comparison.
Wages at common establishments
A third section is headed "wages at common establishments" (共通事業所による賃金). The document defines these as establishments that were included in the tabulation both in the same month a year earlier and in the current month. It provides them as reference figures.
- All types of employment, total cash earnings: +2.8%
- All types of employment, scheduled earnings: +3.1%
The document cautions that the sample is smaller than in the main series.
Two notes printed on the first page
First, the figures are preliminary, and the page says preliminary figures may be revised in the final report (速報値は確報で改訂される場合がある). The schedule on the last page lists the final report for August on October 23.
Second, the survey covered 33,045 establishments. 22,241 responded, a response rate of 67.3%.
What the document does not say
Three things this document does not tell you, and so we will not either.
- It does not give a reason for the August changes in wages or in prices.
- It does not say whether the final report will differ from these figures.
- It does not say what wages will do next month.
What it does say is this. In August 2026, by the Ministry's preliminary count, total cash earnings per worker were ¥311,364, up 3.8% from a year earlier. Deflated by consumer prices without imputed rent, the real wage index rose 1.5%. Deflated by all items, it rose 1.9%.
The Ministry publishes it every month. We will read it again.
Source
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — 毎月勤労統計調査 2026（令和８）年８月分結果速報, October 7, 2026: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/monthly/r08/2608p/2608p.html. The figures are on page 1 of the summary PDF (概況); the glossary is in the press release PDF (報道発表資料).
Amounts are in yen per worker and changes are from the same month a year earlier, as printed. The figures are preliminary. English names for the wage categories are our translation; the document is in Japanese only. The sum 298,358 + 13,006 = 311,364 is LeakSquare's arithmetic. This is a reading of a public document. It is not investment advice and makes no recommendation to buy or sell any security.