Photo/Illutration A labor union official records wage increases during an annual spring labor offensive. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

About half of respondents in a Cabinet Office survey about wages said they did not envisage their income increasing five years from now.

While recent spring labor offensives led to modest increases, soaring consumer prices effectively wiped them out, stifling consumer sentiment. This, in turn, triggered anxiety about surviving in retirement, which has led to an increase in savings.

The findings were released July 29 in a white paper on the economy and public finance.

The study was conducted in part because consumption has not risen despite greater disposable income brought about by wage increases and tax cuts.

In late March, about 15,000 people were surveyed about household consumption and saving trends.

Roughly 70 percent of respondents said they would buy more if their salaries rose.

But when asked to forecast their wage income five years from now, 18.4 percent thought it would decrease while 38.6 percent said it would remain unchanged.

While about 50 percent of those in their 20s responded that wages would increase, only about 20 percent said the increase after five years would exceed 10 percent.

Officials said the results show that people are not confident about a sustained increase in wages.

Among the reasons given for that sentiment were: the many generations that felt wages had not increased as they expected when they were younger; the pace at which wages increased was more restrained the longer one worked for the same company; and real wage increases, especially for younger cohorts, has slowed due to the surge in consumer prices in recent years.

To improve the situation, the report concluded that a stable and gradual increase in consumer prices of about 2 percent is needed, along with an improved system to raise wages and allow for job hopping.

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