Council takes up discretionary work rules; real wages rise 1.6% in August as pay hits ¥311,563
The labour council's working conditions subcommittee began debating who may be covered by discretionary work. MHLW's August data show total cash earnings up 3.9% and real earnings up 1.6%; three-year graduate turnover fell to 31.2%.
At its 213th meeting on 23 October, the working conditions subcommittee of the Labour Policy Council debated discretionary work (sairyo rodosei). MHLW's papers, following the July growth strategy, ask how to set coverage if safeguards on long hours and pay are kept. Employer members want wider coverage; union members oppose loosening.
Why it matters: No bill exists yet, but coverage rules for discretionary work may loosen with stricter safeguards. If you use the system, audit hours and pay for covered staff now; the 2024 rules on consent and health measures already apply.
MHLW's final figures for August put average total cash earnings at ¥311,563 at firms with five or more staff, up 3.9% on a year earlier. Real earnings, deflated by CPI excluding imputed rent, rose 1.6% as prices rose 2.2%. Part-time workers' scheduled pay averaged ¥1,478 an hour, up 4.7%.
Why it matters: Pay is outrunning prices, so staff will expect raises above inflation. Part-time hourly pay is rising faster than the headline, so check part-time grades against that 4.7% move.
MHLW says 31.2% of those who graduated from university in March 2023 left their first employer within three years, 2.6 points below the previous cohort. For high-school leavers it was 36.9%, down 1.0 point. Rates were highest in accommodation and food service (49.9% for graduates) and at firms with under five staff (58.2%).
Why it matters: Early turnover is easing but still reaches 24.2% for graduates at firms with 1,000 or more staff. Small and food-service employers lose the most hires, so retention work in years one to three matters most there.
Rodo Shimbun reports the Cabinet has approved the 2026 white paper on preventing karoshi (death from overwork). In eight priority sectors, annual average approved mental-disorder cases in FY2021 to FY2023 rose sharply from FY2012 to FY2014: about threefold in healthcare, 1.8 times in construction and 1.6 times for drivers.
Why it matters: Health and care employers face the steepest rise in recognised mental-health claims. Review overtime monitoring, harassment handling and support for staff after distressing incidents.
Rodo Shimbun reports that Sanwa Kensetsu, an Osaka mid-sized contractor, will pay university-graduate site managers joining in FY2027 ¥300,000 a month. It is converting about 20% of its settlement-time bonus pool into monthly pay, after folding its twice-yearly bonuses into salary in FY2024, when starting pay rose from the ¥200,000s to the ¥250,000s.
Why it matters: Moving bonus into base pay lifts advertised starting salary, and rivals in construction may copy it. If you recruit graduates, compare headline monthly pay as well as total annual pay.
Compiled each weekday morning with AI assistance from the reports linked under each story; summaries are ours, the reporting is theirs. Check the source before acting on anything here. Corrections: editor@hardestmarket.com.
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