The rate of growth is, however, likely to be lower than it was up until fiscal 2006, since capital investment has continued to increase at a rapid pace for the last several years. The positive influence of the strength in the corporate sector has been feeding through into the household sector slowly but steadily.
With the number of employees rising, employee income has been increasing moderately, and growth in household income has continued to be further supported via various other channels, for example, increased dividends. Meanwhile, wages have been somewhat weak recently, reflecting labor cost restraint by firms in the face of greater exposure to global competition and capital market discipline, and increased materials prices.