Dec 26 (Japan Times) - The average winter bonus for workers at major Japanese businesses rose 1.77 percent from a year earlier to a record ¥951,411 this year, a survey showed Wednesday.
Bonuses agreed to in labor-management negotiations hit a record high for the second straight year thanks to strong earnings, but the pace of increase was less than the 6.14 percent from a year before, according to a final tally by the Japan Business Federation.
The survey by the business group known as Keidanren covered 150 member companies in 19 industries with 880,000 unionized workers.
The average bonus rose 2.17 percent to ¥934,825 at manufacturers.
Six of the 13 sectors including automobiles and electronics posted rises, while the other seven, such as in the steel and nonferrous metal sectors, logged falls due to a global economic slowdown.
Nonmanufacturers saw the average bonus rise 0.62 percent to ¥¥997,534.
