TOKYO, 6th September, 2024 (WAM) -- Japan's household spending in July rose a real 0.1 percent from a year earlier for the first increase in three months, as higher wages drove outlays on home renovations and entertainment, government data showed Friday.
Kyodo News quoted the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as saying that average spending by households with two or more people stood at 290,931 yen (US$2,029).
Overall spending was lifted by a 17.3 percent increase in housing outlays, as more people did home renovations such as installing new kitchens and bathtubs, the ministry said.
Outlays on entertainment rose 5.6 percent as more households bought televisions to watch the Paris Olympics, a ministry official said. Expenditures on domestic package tours surged 47.0 percent while those for overseas package tours jumped 62.6 percent.
The average monthly income of salaried households with at least two people climbed 5.5 percent in real terms to 694,483 yen in July, rising for the third straight month, following increases of 3.1 percent and 3.0 percent in June and May, respectively, the ministry said.
Household spending is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product.