Japanese companies are set to raise winter bonus payments by 9.7%, the largest gain since 1975, a survey by the Nikkei newspaper reported Sunday.
Steel-makers led all industries in bonus increases, while the semiconductor industry saw several companies reporting record profits led by strong demand.
Disco, a maker of precision processing equipment, paid out ¥3.16 million, the highest level among all companies, according to the survey. Nippon Steel Corp. raised its bonus payments by 2.3 times to ¥1.18 million.
The payout was ¥863,059 ($6,312) per person on a weighted average basis, the highest level since 2018. Bonuses among manufacturers, which make up about 70% of the 511 companies surveyed by the newspaper, rose 9.3%, while nonmanufacturers increased by 11%.