Private Salaries Hit New Record in Japan

A survey of private-sector salaries conducted by the National Tax Agency found that the average salary earned by workers in the private sector increased in 2024 by 3.9% year on year to ¥4,775,000, rising for the fourth consecutive year. This sets a new record, ahead of the ¥4,670,000 average in 1997, as it reaches the highest point since statistics were first kept in 1949. Contributing factors included corporate efforts to secure staff amid the labor shortage and the rise in the minimum wage.

The average salary for women reached ¥3,332,000 (up 5.5%), but this was ¥2.5 million less than the men’s average of ¥5,867,000 (up 3.2%). Regular employees had an average of ¥5,449,000, while nonregular employees’ average was ¥2,063,000, for a gap of more than ¥3 million.

By industry, the highest average was ¥8.32 million in electricity, gas, heat, and water supply, ahead of ¥7.02 million in finance and insurance and ¥6.60 million in information and communications. The lowest average was ¥2.79 million in accommodation and dining services.

Average Salary by Employment Status and Gender

Created by Nippon.com based on data from the National Tax Agency.

Data Sources

• Private salary survey data (Japanese) from the National Tax Agency.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)