Economy watcher sentiment logs 1st fall in 5 months

January 13, 2018

Tokyo- Sentiment among so-called economy watchers, or people with economy-sensitive jobs, in Japan in December fell for the first time in five months, the Cabinet Office said Friday.

The seasonally adjusted diffusion index on their sentiment compared with three months before inched down 0.2 point from the previous month to 53.9.

But as the index stayed above the boom-or-bust threshold of 50, the Cabinet Office kept its basic assessment unchanged, saying that sentiment is on a moderate recovery.

The economy watcher indexes for household activities and employment conditions fell, while the index for corporate activities went up.

In the survey, an official at a department store in the Kinki western region said that prices and sales volumes for luxury items are falling. A worker at an amusement park in the Koshinetsu central region cited a decrease in family visitors.

A staff employee at a job magazine in Hokkaido, northern Japan, pointed to a drop in the number of non-regular job offers against the backdrop of a trend among companies toward hiring more regular employees.

Meanwhile, a worker at a metal producer in the Kanto eastern region said that orders for products for exports, including US-bound items, are increasing.

The surveyed people's outlook DI for economic conditions two to three months ahead fell 0.7 point to 52.7, partly reflecting concerns among companies about labor shortages. Jiji Press