Japan’s real wages in April fell 0.7 percent from a year earlier for the 25th straight month of decline, the longest since comparable data became available in 1991, as wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation, government data showed Wednesday.

According to Kyodo News, the decline was smaller than a revised 2.1 percent drop in March after many major companies awarded their highest salary increases in three decades during this year’s spring wage negotiations.

Nominal wages, the average total monthly cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, grew 2.1 percent to 296,884 yen ($1,910), up for the 28th consecutive month.

However, the consumer price index, used to calculate real wages, climbed 2.9 percent in the reporting month, surpassing the gain in nominal wages.

Despite the positive wage negotiation outcome among major companies, which the Japan Business Federation said have agreed to an over 5 percent pay raise on average in monthly wages, hikes among small and medium-sized firms have fallen behind.

The average monthly wage increase at such companies in this year’s spring wage talks stood at 3.62 percent, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.