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Japan's jobless rate shows spike
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-08 07:58
Japan's jobless rate jumped to its highest in more than four years in March and household spending extended its slide, underscoring the ongoing pain for the world's second-biggest economy. Prices also fell. A day after the government released a bullish report on industrial production, it said today that unemployment rose to 4.8 percent, up from 4.4 percent in February and the worst reading since August 2004. The actual number of unemployed jumped 25 percent from a year earlier to 3.35 million, while the number of employed workers fell 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, Japan's core consumer price index excluding volatile fresh food prices fell 0.1 percent in March from a year earlier, pushed down by lower transportation and communication prices. It was the first drop since September 2007. Today's data stood in contrast to the hopeful news Thursday about factory output. After tumbling sharply in recent months, industrial production rose 1.6 percent in March from February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said, the first climb in six months. Factory output, vital in the export-dependent economy, is projected to rise 4.3 percent this month and 6.1 percent in May. "Japanese industrial production is turning the corner at a high speed," said Masayuki Kichikawa at Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch in Tokyo. "These figures should serve as strong evidence that the economy is on a recovery track." Reuters
(China Daily 05/08/2009 page17) |
