Although the Japanese economy has not yet got out of the severe situation with meager improvements in the household sector, activities on the whole continue to rise modestly. The strength is seen mainly in the corporate sector, where the autonomous nature of the recovery has become increasingly evident.
Personal consumption remains broadly flat while household income has improved a little.
Housing investment increased somewhat in the most recent month, as starts of owner-occupied single houses and those for rent expanded. Business investment continues to rise, led by buoyant outlays by manufacturing firms. Export volume remains broadly unchanged. Industrial production continues to rise, but has been slowing down. Although the slack in the labour market has diminished little as exemplified by the stubbornly high unemployment rate, improvements continue to be seen in the growing number of job offers and in the rising trend of overtime hours worked.