BOJ's Ueda sees wages remain under upward pressure
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Saturday that wages in his country are expected to remain under upward pressure because of a tight labour market.
The Japanese labour market is "expected to remain tight and continue to exert upward pressure on wages," Ueda said at a panel discussion as part of the US Federal Reserve's annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The Japanese central bank will steer monetary policy while closely monitoring the relationship between labour market conditions, wages and prices, he said.
Ueda said that "expectations of positive inflation began to take hold" in Japan after post-pandemic global inflation provided a "large external shock."
In addition, wage growth is spreading from large companies to smaller ones, he said.
A falling population is "producing acute labour shortages and persistent upward pressure on wages," Ueda said.
He said persistent labour shortages are prompting investment in labour-saving technologies, which "has become a key driver of capital spending."
Ueda said studies point out that many routine tasks, which are performed relatively more often by women and nonregular workers, can be automated by artificial intelligence technology. So far, however, "AI adoption has not generated significant labour market disruption" in Japan, he said.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
