TOKYO - Japan's real wages in November dropped 2.8 percent from a year earlier, falling for the 11th straight month and at the fastest pace since last January, government data showed Thursday.

Average nominal wages, or total cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, rose just 0.5 percent from a year earlier to 310,202 yen (about $1,980), marking the slowest pace of growth since December 2021, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Meanwhile, consumer prices climbed 3.3 percent in November, well above wage growth and continuing to erode real incomes, the data showed.

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Food and energy prices have remained high, keeping inflation-adjusted real wages, a key gauge of consumer purchasing power, in negative territory for nearly a year, despite gains in nominal pay.

The Bank of Japan will be closely watching this spring's wage negotiations as a key indicator for deciding the pace of future interest rate hikes, after raising its policy rate to a 30-year high last month.