TOKYO, Nov. 18, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- Average starting pay for new employees who have just graduated from universities or high schools rose this year despite the recession, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
''The economic downturn only had a limited impact on starting salaries because many companies set the terms of employment before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (OOTC:LEHMQ) (in September last year),'' a ministry official said.
The ongoing recession deepened after the demise of the major U.S. investment bank.
College-educated employees' average starting monthly wage edged up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 198,800 yen, rising for the second consecutive year. The starting pay for high school graduates also rose 0.1 percent to 157,800 yen, an increase for the fifth year in a row.
The starting wage for university graduates at companies with a workforce of at least 1,000 rose 0.7 percent to 200,400 yen.
But the figure dipped 0.2 percent to 199,100 yen at midsize firms with a staff of 100 to 999 and declined 0.9 percent to 192,600 yen at smaller companies employing 10 to 99 workers.
Starting wages for male college graduates averaged 201,400 yen, representing a modest increase of just 100 yen. Those for college-educated women rose 0.2 percent to 194,900 yen.
The ministry's survey is based on monthly salaries paid in June by about 13,700 private-sector firms.
