Recommendation of salary increase for Hokkaido employees, including monthly salary increase of 2.9% for 5th consecutive year

On the 2nd, the Hokkaido Personnel Commission recommended a salary increase for Hokkaido employees to Governor Naomichi Suzuki. They requested that monthly salaries for fiscal 2026 be increased by 2.9% and bonuses increased by 0.05 months compared to the previous year. This is to eliminate the disparity with private companies, and if it is increased as recommended, it will be the fifth consecutive year.

The road will now begin labor-management negotiations. If the agreement is reached as recommended, the average annual salary for general administrative workers (age 40.6) will increase by 214,000 yen to 6,723,000 yen. As a result, personnel costs for the entire prefecture will increase by approximately 13.9 billion yen.

In order to secure human resources, they also requested that the starting salary be increased by 9,500 yen. The salary for university graduates increased by 4.1% to 241,500 yen, and the salary for high school graduates increased by 4.7% to 209,800 yen. Starting salaries have increased for the fifth consecutive year, but the rate of increase is smaller than the 12% range two years ago for both university graduates and high school graduates.

In recent years, we have increased the rate of increase for young employees, including new graduates, but this time we have taken care to ensure that mid-career and higher-level employees receive a higher rate than the previous year. The aim is to increase the retention rate.

It also recommended that a new allowance be established for transfers starting in April 2027. For transfers that involve relocation to a location more than 60 kilometers away, benefits will be provided for three years from the date of transfer. The amount increases as the distance increases. Transferring from Sapporo to Asahikawa will cost approximately 110,000 yen per year (approximately 220,000 yen for those relocating alone).