With regard to final demand, business fixed investment continues to decrease and private consumption, despite some resilience, remains weak as a whole. Moreover, housing investment remains sluggish and public investment is on a downtrend. Meanwhile, net exports (real exports minus real imports) are increasing markedly due to the recovery in overseas economies and also to the effects of restocking abroad, mainly in IT-related goods.
Industrial production is picking up, reflecting the increase in exports and completion of inventory adjustment. The rebound in production is beginning to affect employment conditions, albeit marginally, with an increase in overtime working hours and in new job offers mainly for part-time workers.