Workers in Japan brought home higher wages in July, although the gains were eaten up by inflation.

The labor ministry says the average wage for the month was nearly 378,000 yen, or about 2,700 dollars.

That is up 1.8 percent from a year earlier in yen terms, marking the seventh consecutive month of increase.

Overtime and other forms of extra pay grew 4.7 percent, the 16th monthly rise.

Ministry officials say summer bonuses at some businesses and longer work hours at restaurants boosted wages overall.

Despite the gains, the average real wage dropped 1.3 percent year-on-year. That was the fourth-straight month of decline.

The officials say increases in consumer prices outpaced the higher pay.