TOKYO (XINHUA) – Japan’s household spending in November fell 2.9 per cent from a year earlier as people continued to cut back amid rising prices, government data showed yesterday.
Households of two or more people spent an average of JPY286,922 (about USD1,990), dropping for the ninth consecutive month while expanding from the 2.5-per-cent fall in October, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
By category, food expenditure, accounting for around one-third of household spending, declined for the 14th straight month by falling 1.2 per cent, as people spent less on vegetables, seaweed and fruit, data showed, while spending on education dropped 11 per cent, with families switching children from cram schools to comparatively affordable online tutoring.
Meanwhile, expenditure on clothing and footwear climbed 15.4 per cent, marking the first increase in four months, as more people went out and travelled, data showed.
Accounting for over half of Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP), household spending is a key gauge of private consumption in the country.
