March 1, 2000 
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| March 1, 2000 | atimes.com | |
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| Japan Household spending drops for 6th straight month TOKYO - Spending by Japanese households headed by a salaried worker dropped 3.0 percent year on year in January to an average of 332,927 yen (US$2,991) on an inflation-adjusted basis, the Management and Coordination Agency has reported. It was the sixth consecutive monthly decline. The fall, which reflects continued slow consumer spending, is largely attributed to a decline in income, an agency official noted. Household income fell 2.5 percent, while disposable income dipped 1.5 percent. Both have declined year on year since July 1999. The last time spending declined for at least six consecutive months was between October 1997 and April 1998 when a financial crisis and other factors depressed consumption for seven straight months. Outlays on goods and services related to information technology, however, were brisk in January, with purchases of personal computers and other durable goods for culture/education and entertainment jumping 23.7 percent, the first rise in two months. Spending on telecommunications rose 12.9 percent, for the 15th straight month of increase. Consumer confidence is also weakening. The propensity to consume, a comparison of consumption and disposable income, averaged 70.0 percent in January seasonally adjusted, falling for the second straight month. The figure was the lowest in four months. The Management and Coordination Agency also reported that Japan's unemployment rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 4.7 percent in January, unchanged from the previous month, as many companies continued to curb hiring. The agency said it revised the December jobless rate slightly higher to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent, due to changes in the way it calculates the seasonal adjustment. It also revised the rate downward for last June and July to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent. The total number of people out of work in January topped three million for the first time in three months, rising 110,000 year-on-year to 3.09 million. The jobless rate for men fell 0.1 percentage point from December to 4.8 percent, while the rate for women rose 0.1 point to 4.5 percent. The manufacturing and construction industries each lost more than 300,000 jobs in the month, offsetting job increases in the service, transport and communications and wholesale/retail sectors. (Asia Pulse/Nikkei) | |||||||||
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