Japan’s industrial output falls for second month
Print Edition
JAPAN’S factory output dropped in June for the second consecutive month, official figures showed yesterday, underscoring the patchy nature of the country’s economic recovery.
The trade and industry ministry said output was down 2.1 percent in June from the previous month, far more than expectations for a 0.3 percent decline.
The fall was the second consecutive monthly drop and was the result largely of a decline in the production of chip-making equipment, said Hirotaka Yazawa, economist at Mizuho Research Institute. “But given that the outlook for production in July is positive, I see the decline as a matter of timing,” caused by a temporary adjustment in production, he said.
The decline “does not mean the economy is slowing down.”
New data from Japan’s labor ministry yesterday showed the jobless rate edged up to 2.4 percent in June from a 26-year low of 2.2 percent the previous month.
But the jobs-to-applicants ratio is at its highest rate in 44 years, with 162 job offers going for every 100 job hunters.
Japan has long struggled with a tight labor market, thanks to an ageing society, a perennially low birth rate and very low levels of immigration.
The government has proposed slightly loosening tight restrictions on foreign workers to help tackle the issue.
In June, confidence among leading manufacturers slipped for the second straight quarter in the Bank of Japan’s key business survey.
Japan’s economy slid into reverse for the first time in two years at the beginning of 2018, hit by sluggish consumption and a winter cold snap.
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