TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Overtime hours worked by employees in the manufacturing sector dropped by a sharp 11.1 percent in October from a year earlier due to slumping production activity in Japan amid the economic downturn, a government report showed Monday.
Overtime hours in the sector -- a key gauge of manufacturing activity --- averaged 15.1 hours in the reporting month, falling for the seventh month in a row and down by its sharpest margin since February 2002, according to the report, compiled by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
The report also showed average wages at Japanese companies with at least five employees in October inched down 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 274,751 yen, marking the first fall in 10 months.
Of the total wages, scheduled pay, such as basic salary, averaged 250,812 yen, up 0.2 percent, but nonscheduled pay dropped 3.1 percent to 19,356 yen due to the decline in overtime hours worked, the ministry said.
