TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's jobless rate improved in September as pressure on companies to cut costs eased, while other key data on consumer spending and prices were generally postive, giving further signs that the decade old problem of deflation may be easing, official data showed.
Uemployment fell to 4.6 percent in September from 4.8 percent in August, matching the improvement in May and June, when the rate was the lowest in nearly four years.
The number of people unemployed fell 370,000 from a year earlier to 3.09 million for a 16th straight monthly decline while the number of employed jumped 230,000 to 63.69 million.
Analysts said the unemployment figures appear to be improving as the restructuring pressure on Japanese companies eases, with most of the job cuts already carried out as the economy has recovered over the past several years.
Looking at the figures a government official said "we can say that overall conditions surrounding the labor market are now improving."
The government also reported that salaried household spending in September rose 0.3 percent year-on-year, the fourth rise in six months, supporting that view that consumer demand continues to improve and with it the overall economy.
"With the upward trend in consumer spending, it is expected that job market conditions and Japan's economy as a whole will continue improving slowly," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
Other analysts, however, expressed some caution over the figures.
"Salaried household spending was inflated apparently by one-off demand such as for the Athens Olympic Games and the record-breaking hot weather," said UFJ Research Institute economist Tatsushi Shikano.
In September television sales jumped 99.7 percent year-on-year, with refrigerators up 57.8 percent.
At the same time, core consumer prices, which exclude volatile fresh food but do include energy costs, were flat in September from a year earlier, the first time they did not fall in seven months, the government said Friday.
Core consumer prices in metropolitan Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide trends, fell 0.3 percent in October.
National all-in prices were unchanged in September and up 0.3 percent from August.
"Prices of perishable vegetables jumped in October due to a series of natural disasters, such as two typhoons and the prolonged rainy season," a government official said.
In Tokyo, overall prices rose 0.3 percent in October and posted a strong 0.5 percent from September for the first such gain in more than five years.
10/29/2004 - 11:09 GMT - AFP