The average starting salary of university graduates fell 0.8 percent in 2013 from the year before to #165;198,000 for the second consecutive yearly fall, the government said Ｔhursday.
The figure for high school graduates stood at ¥156,000, down 1.2 percent, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, citing the results of an annual survey.
The ministry traced the falls to stepped-up recruitment by small and midsize companies, which tend to pay lower wages.
The starting pay at large companies with a workforce of 1,000 or more edged up 0.1 percent to an average ¥202,500, while that at small companies hiring between 10 and 99 workers declined 3.3 percent to ¥190,000.
By sector, telecommunications firms had the highest starting pay, at ¥211,600, while the average initial pay at providers of trucking or postal services was the lowest, at ¥188,600.
By gender, male university graduates received ¥200,200, down 0.8 percent, as commencing pay, against their female counterparts' ¥195,100, down 0.7 percent.