Although the unemployment rate remains at a high level, the growth in nominal wages has been increasing and the year-to-year employment growth has started to gather pace, albeit gradually, reflecting the increase in production and corporate profits. Prices remained stable on the whole, excluding the effect of the consumption tax hike.
Although downward pressures remain, including that from the decline in import prices, as well as that from technological innovation in electrical machinery, domestic wholesale prices (adjusted for seasonal electricity rates) have remained virtually unchanged. This reflects the moderate improvement in overall domestic supply and demand conditions.