The average salary for private-sector workers in Japan reached a record high of ¥4.78 million in 2024, up 3.9% from the previous year, a survey by the National Tax Agency showed Friday.
The average grew for the fourth consecutive year. The pace of increase exceeded 3% for the first time in 33 years.
The increase was apparently driven in part by a rise in minimum wages.
The average salary for men was ¥5.87 million, up 3.2%, and that of women was ¥3.33 million, up 5.5%, both marking record highs.
Regular employees earned an average of ¥5.45 million, a 2.8% increase, while nonregular employees, including part-time workers, had ¥2.06 million in average salary, up 2.2%.
By industry, the highest salaries were found in the electricity, gas and water sector, which saw a 7.4% rise to ¥8.32 million. Finance and insurance services followed with a 7.7% increase to ¥7.02 million.
The least paid were workers in the hotel and restaurant sector, at ¥2.79 million.
Total salaries earned by about 61 million private-sector workers climbed 3.7% to ¥241.4 trillion, with around ¥11.2 trillion in income tax withheld.
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