Also, on the wage side, the practice of regular increases in base pay, which had disappeared under deflation, returned in 2014 and has taken hold again since then. Moves to increase wages have been spreading steadily, not only among large firms but also small and medium-sized firms in local areas.
In relation to this point, the Bank compiled the results of interviews conducted by its branches in the annex paper to the Regional Economic Report released in December, in which it introduced comments by firms in this region as well, such that there was a notable number of firms that were proceeding with wage increases in order to secure  4  employees.