TOKYO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan's real wages edged up 0.5 percent in July from a year earlier, marking the first increase in seven months on the back of large summertime bonuses, government data showed Friday.

Nominal pay, or the average total cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, rose 4.1 percent to 419,668 yen (about 2,800 U.S. dollars) in July, the fastest pace in seven months, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

The gain in average wages was supported by a 7.9 percent jump in special payments, mainly reflecting bonuses, to 128,618 yen, the data showed.

Base salaries, or regular pay, grew 2.5 percent in July, while overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, gained 3.3 percent, the highest since November 2022.

Meanwhile, consumer prices the ministry uses to calculate real wages, a key measure of consumer purchasing power, rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in July, driven by higher rice and other food costs.

Unless prices stabilize, real wages may not keep growing in August and beyond, a ministry official said. ■