Labor crunch sends Japan restaurant pay to record high

With nightlife back on, the scramble for kitchen staff and servers heats up

A Vietnamese trainee works at a Tokyo restaurant. Japan's eased entry restrictions are expected to take several months to benefit the labor market. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)

SHOHEI NOMOTO and DAIKI TSUGANE, Nikkei staff writers

November 16, 2021 07:24 JST

TOKYO -- Japan's economic reopening has driven restaurants offering new part-time hires the most generous wages on record, as the latest industry figures show.

Part-time food service workers in the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya areas earned an average of 1,050 yen ($9.21) an hour in October, staffing group Recruit Holdings reported Monday. The number is up 2.4% from a year earlier, besting the pre-COVID high recorded in November 2019.