Recent Updates
- Composite PMIs: Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Ireland, China (Feb)
- US: Autodata Vehicle Sales (Feb)
- New Zealand: Regional Building Consents (Jan)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Continue to Strengthen
The price of regular gasoline strengthened to $2.71 per gallon (11.9% y/y) in the week ended March 1...
Post Covid-19 Turbulence Rocks and Weakens German Retail Sales
German and other European retail sales have been put through a sort of test of fire in the wake of the covid-19 virus arrival...
ISM Manufacturing Index Improves in February as Prices Continue to Strengthen
Factory sector activity recovered last month following moderate weakening in January...
NABE Projects Firm Growth in 2022, as in 2021
The NABE expects 4.0% real GDP growth in 2022 following a 4.8% rise during 2021...
U.S. Construction Spending Strengthens Again in January
Building activity continues to strengthen...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Louise Curley March 29, 2005
After strong economic data for Japan in January, the latest indicators are disappointing. Retail sales declined by almost 3% from January to February and were only 0.9% above February, 2004. Employment declined 0.4% in February and unemployment was up 2.7%, resulting in a 2 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate to 4.7%
In spite of lower employment, the average worker's household income increased by 4.5% in February and his disposable income was up 5%, suggesting an increase in wages. These data are, however, seasonally unadjusted. The seasonally adjusted index of worker's income actually shows a decline of 0.3%. Such a decline together with concern over employment prospects as a result of the rise in the unemployment rate may have been an important factor causing the average household to reduce living expenditures by almost 9% seasonally unadjusted or 4% seasonally adjusted in the month. The indexes of the worker household's expenditures and the broader retail sales series are shown in the attached chart.
Feb 05 | Jan 05 | Feb 04 | M/M% | Y/Y% | 2004 % | 2003% | 2002% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (10,000) | 6339 | 6357 | 6324 | -0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.2 | -1.3 |
Unemployment (10,000) | 310 | 302 | 332 | 2.6 | -6.6 | -10.6 | -2.4 | 5.5 |
Retail Sales (2000=1000 | 93.2 | 95.8 | 92.4 | -2.7 | 0.9 | -0.9 | -1.7 | -4.3 |
Worker's Household | ||||||||
Income (1000 Yen) | 469.9 | 119.7 | 472.8 | 4.5 | -0.6 | 1.0 | -2.6 | -2.3 |
Income (2000=1000 | 95.6 | 95.9 | 96.3 | -0.3 | -0.7 | 1.3 | -2.9 | -2.2 |
Disposable Inc (1000 Yen) | 400.1 | 381.1 | 403.9 | 5.0 | -1.0 | 1.0 | -2.7 | -2.6 |
Living Expenditures (1000 Yen) | 371.2 | 406.8 | 383.3 | -8.7 | -3.1 | 1.5 | -1.6 | -1.2 |
Living Expenditures(2000=100) | 96.5 | 100.7 | 100.6 | -4.2 | -4.1 | 1.6 | -1.5 | -1.4 |