CONFIDENCE among Japanese merchants rose to its highest level in almost three years last month, signalling that the benefits of the export-led recovery are reaching households.
The Japanese Economy Watchers index, a survey of barbers, taxi drivers and others who deal with consumers, climbed to 47.4, a fourth straight gain, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo. That's the highest level since April 2007.
The Cabinet Office report adds to signs that a stabilising job market is encouraging consumers to spend, even as deflation persists and wages continue to fall.
February's unemployment rate held steady at a 10-month low, workers' overtime hours increased and sentiment about jobs led gains in household confidence for a second month.
Consumers are spending on items beyond those that qualify for government incentives. Sales of clothing advanced 8.4 per cent in February from a year earlier, the Trade Ministry's retail report showed last month.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government extended programs that provide incentives to buy cars and home appliances. Those measures boosted household outlays on durable goods for a third consecutive quarter (ending in December), even as spending on services declined, the Cabinet Office's gross domestic product data shows.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/household-spending-lifts-japan-20100409-rymr.html
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