Japan Factory Output has Biggest Fall on Record Dec 29, 2008

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

Industrial production in Japan fell by its biggest margin on record in November. Output at the nation's manufacturers fell 8.1% from October, and a government survey predicted further declines of 8% in December and 2.1% in January.

The drop in factory production is nearly double the previous biggest decline of 4.3% in January 2001, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The ministry said 2.56 million people were unemployed in Japan in November, an increase of 100,000 from a year earlier.

Consumers are also holding back. Retail sales fell 0.9% in November from last year, the third straight monthly decline. And average monthly household spending fell 0.5% from a year earlier, for the ninth decline in a row.

Back to Daily News