IN BRIEF : Japanese Raises Average 4.4%

The average Japanese worker got a 4.4% raise in 1988, or about $75 more each month, the Labor Ministry said today.

A ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the increase was higher than last year’s 3.6%, the lowest since the annual wage survey began in 1965. The highest was 29.3% in 1974.

The official attributed this year’s rise to recovery from a business slump last year triggered by the yen’s rapid appreciation against the U.S. dollar. The higher yen makes Japanese goods more expensive abroad and has hurt companies heavily dependent on exports.

For its wage increase figure, the official said the ministry randomly questioned 3,200 private companies with 100 employes or more in September. Japanese wage bargaining is conducted in the spring.

The official said that in 1987, the average monthly wage for a Japanese worker in a company with 30 employees or more was $2,710, including overtime, bonuses and allowances. Such workers account for about half of Japan’s total work force of 44 million.