blog: Salaries falling

The Ministry of Finance figures showed that exports to the US fell 39.5% in July from the same month last year, which was worse than the 37.6% fall in June.

Exports to China were down 26.5%, while those going to the European Union fell 45.8%.

Gross domestic product grew 3.7% in the three months from April to June, fuelled by an improvement in exports in the period, but there have been concerns that those figures were boosted by stimulus spending and scrappage schemes.

There are also concerns that domestic demand remains weak, with average salaries falling and the unemployment rate at a six-year high of 5.4%.

Japan’s trade surplus still rose, because imports fell 40.8%, largely due to lower energy costs.

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