Japan summer bonuses, overtime pay fall in June

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Japanese workers' summer bonuses
fell and overtime pay marked a third straight month of annual
falls in June, government data showed on Tuesday, as the economy
remained under strain from the March 11 earthquake and its
aftermath.

Wage earners' total cash earnings slipped 0.8 percent in
June from a year earlier with overtime pay, a barometer of
strength in corporate activity, decreasing 0.5 percent, data
from the health ministry showed.

Special payments, which are predominantly summer bonuses,
declined 2.0 percent in June from a year earlier as companies
were still suffering from disruptions in supply chains caused by
the March 11 disaster.

Workers are usually paid bonuses twice a year, in summer and
December. They payments had rebounded last summer from a sharp
fall sparked by the global financial crisis.

Overtime pay declined in the year to June but the pace of
falls slowed in a sign that damage caused by the March disaster
was starting to heal.

Some companies may also have front-loaded their summer bonus
payments in May, as suggested by that month's big rise, a
ministry official said.

The following table shows preliminary data for monthly
incomes and numbers of workers in June:
----------------------------------------------------------------

JUNE JUNE MAY
Payments (yen) yr/yr change (pct)
Total cash earnings 435,353 yen -0.8 +1.0*
Monthly wage 263,787 yen -0.1 -0.6
-Regular pay 246,202 yen -0.1 -0.5*
-Overtime pay 17,585 yen -0.5 -2.3*
-Special payments 171,566 yen -2.0 +60.7*

----------------------------------------------------------------
Number of workers (million)
Overall 44.485 mln +0.7 +0.6*
-general employees 32.243 mln +0.8 0.0*
-part-time employees 12.241 mln +0.3 +2.0*

----------------------------------------------------------------
*denotes a revision from preliminary data.

The ministry defines "workers" as 1) those who are employed
for more than one month at a firm that employs more than five
people, or 2) those who are employed on a daily basis or have
less than a one-month contract but had worked more than 18 days
during the two months before the survey was conducted at a firm
that employs more than five people.

To view the full tables see the labour ministry website:
here
($1 = 77.19 Japanese Yen)

(Reporting by Rie Ishiguro; Editing by Michael Watson)