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TOKYO — Japan's jobless rate held steady in January but consumer spending fell from a year ago, the government said Tuesday, underscoring the fragility of its economic recovery even as a political battle rages over the next national budget.
The country's jobless rate stood at 4.9 percent in January, unchanged from December. The seasonally adjusted figure indicates a recovery from the recent downturn, when it crept as high as 5.4 percent in 2009, and matched an average of economist forecasts by the Kyodo news agency.
But the government also said consumer spending fell 1.0 percent in January from a year earlier, as the average salary at working households declined.
The mixed figures reflect ongoing questions about Japan's economic recovery, as its beleaguered ruling party tries to pass a fiscal budget against stiff political opposition. The budget plan cleared Japan's lower house of parliament early Tuesday as the ruling Democrats try to enact it by the start of the next fiscal year in April.
While the falling jobless rate is a sign that the country's corporate recovery may be trickling down to the labor market, the fall in spending is a negative. Exports have driven the Japanese economic recovery so far, but private consumption is a critical part of the equation, making up around 60 percent of GDP.
The latest figures come a day after a separate set of data indicated a recovery for Japan's manufacturers. The government said Monday that industrial production rose for a third straight month in January and that the country's output "continues to show an upward movement."
But deflation continues to loom as a threat. Last week, government data showed that consumer prices fell for the 23rd straight month, and price falls can lead to wage declines.
The country's large debt is also a concern. Also last week, Moody's Investors Service cut its outlook on the country's debt rating, questioning the government's power to enact reforms even as it struggles with the highest debt burden among advanced economies.
