Aug 07 (NHK) - Official figures indicate that Japanese households may be recovering from the economic impact of COVID-19. Spending was down in June, but by a much smaller margin than the month before.
Figures from the internal affairs ministry show a contraction of 1.2 percent from the same month last year. That's the ninth-straight month of decline. But it was a significant improvement from May, when household spending dropped 16.2 percent.
Spending on package tours and theater admissions were down more than 90 percent. In contrast, the number for TV-set purchases was up 83 percent and 111 percent for tables and sofas.
The ministry officials say the government's assistance of 100,000 yen, or about 950 dollars, per person helped push those numbers higher.
In the meantime, working people received less money to spend in June than a year earlier. Cash earnings dropped 1.7 percent, to about 4,200 dollars. That was the third consecutive month of decline. Overtime and other additional income plunged 25 percent. Even so, the decline was not as steep as in May.
People working in consumer services, such as entertainment and restaurants, experienced the biggest drops.
