The average monthly wage, including bonuses, came to ¥314,150 in 2013, a record low for the second straight year, the labor ministry said in a preliminary report Wednesday.
Overtime pay and bonuses grew on the back of the economic upturn, but low-paid part-timers accounted for a greater share of the overall workforce, preventing the average wage level from rising, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
Part-timers accounted for a record 29.4 percent of the workforce, up 0.6 point from the previous year.
The average monthly wage of full-time workers turned up for the first time in two years, rising 0.7 percent to ¥404,743, while that of part-timers fell for the first time in two years, coming to ¥96,630, down 0.6 percent, the ministry said.
The nationwide survey was conducted on around 33,000 firms with five or more employees. The current survey method was introduced in 1990.