TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s jobless rate rose for the second straight month in July while household spending fell, the government said Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 4.7 percent in July, edging up from 4.6 percent in June.
People search job listings on computers at Ikebukuro Hello Work, a job center in the Toshima Ward of Tokyo. (Bloomberg)
The result reflects the fragility of the world’s No. 3 economy, which is wrestling with a strong yen and an increasingly uncertain outlook for the global economy.
The yen hit a post World-War II high against the dollar earlier this month, and is a major worry for Japan’s export-led economy. A strong yen erodes the value of exporters’ repatriated profits and makes their products less price competitive in overseas markets.
Companies are shifting production out of Japan as a result. Major manufacturers like Nissan Motor Co. and Panasonic Corp. have said they will seek to insulate themselves from foreign exchange volatility by relying less on exports from Japan.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who is slated to become Japan’s next prime minister, has cited the hollowing out of Japanese industry as among his biggest concerns about the economy.
But the actual jobs picture may be worse because the data do not include the three prefectures hardest hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
In Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, there are ongoing reports of out-of-work residents unable to find jobs to replace ones that were wiped out by the disaster.
Separately, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said average household spending fell a real 2.1 percent in July from a year earlier to 280,046 yen ($3,640).
Households spent less on transportation, communication, fuel and clothing during the month. The figure is a main indicator of Japan’s private consumption, which accounts for more than half of gross domestic product.
