Collectively, trade unions (which engaged each year in a “spring offensive” to settle wages and bonuses) helped the bulk of the Japanese population to a share in the affluence brought by the expansion of national production. Real wages in manufacturing were nearly 50% higher in 1960 than they had been in 1934-36 (which was taken to be the prewar norm). In the next ten years they grew by another 80%, while those in commerce grew only a little more slowly. From 1955 to 1980, the amount of the average household budget spent on food fell from 44.5% to 27.8%, while the proportion spent on medical care, rent, and clothing also dropped, leaving more money for non-essentials such as extra education, consumer durables, and leisure.