July  Jan. 20  Jul. July  Jan. 21  Notes: 1. In the left-hand chart, Q1 = March-May, Q2 = June-August, Q3 = September-November, Q4 = December-February. Employee income = Total cash earnings (Monthly Labour Survey) × Number of employees (Labour Force Survey). Figures from 2016/Q1 onward are based on continuing observations following the sample revisions of the Monthly Labour Survey.
Figures for "real" and "real (excluding the effects of the consumption tax hikes and free education policies)" are based on staff calculations using the CPI (less imputed rent) and CPI (less imputed rent and excluding the effects of consumption tax hikes and free early childhood education), respectively. 2.