Tokyo: The average starting pay for new
employees who have just graduated from universities or high
schools rose this year despite the recession, according to
data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Health, Labor and
Welfare.
"The economic downturn only had a limited impact on
starting salaries because many companies set the terms of
employment before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings
Inc (in September last year)," a ministry official said.
The ongoing recession deepened after the demise of the
major US investment bank.
College-educated employees' average starting monthly wage
edged up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 198,800 yen,
rising for the second consecutive year. The starting pay for
high school graduates also rose 0.1 percent to 157,800 yen, an
increase for the fifth year in a row.
The starting wage for university graduates at companies
with a workforce of at least 1,000 rose 0.7 percent to 200,400
yen.
But the figure dipped 0.2 percent to 199,100 yen at
midsize firms with a staff of 100 to 999 and declined 0.9
percent to 192,600 yen at smaller companies employing 10 to 99
workers.
Starting wages for male college graduates averaged
201,400 yen, representing a modest increase of just 100 yen.
Those for college-educated women rose 0.2 percent to 194,900
yen.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 21:57