By August 1960, 9 out of 10 urban households had a radio, almost half had an electric washing machine and an electric fan, and more than half had a television set. By the late Seventies, however, 99.4% of all households had refrigerators, 98.7% owned washing machines, 97.7% had colour television sets, and 53.4% possessed motor cars. By the early 1980s, most Japanese enjoyed to “to the full the fact that they possessed amenities and advantages befitting a society as advanced as any on Earth.” The annual income of the average Japanese family had increased to $20,000, about 40% of all homes were equipped with microwave ovens or air conditioners, more than 8 out of 10 families had electric sewing machines, 2 out of 3 families owned a passenger car and at least one tape recorder, and more than 99% of all households contained colour television sets and refrigerators. By the mid-1980s, Japanese real wages were estimated to be at least 60% to 80% of real wages in the United States. Some 90% of Japanese came to regard themselves as middle class, and Japanese workers had come to be regarded as amongst the best paid in the world. According to International Labour Organization statistics, Japanese workers in manufacturing in 1984 earned an average of ¥989.99 per hour. In addition, according to a 1989 study on Japanese society, a comparison based on the (then) current value of the yen revealed that Japanese workers were now earning more per hour than their American counterparts.