Nevertheless, firms are still maintaining their stance on reducing personnel expenses from a longer term perspective and as a consequence, household income continues to decrease noticeably. In sum, employment and income conditions of households overall remain severe.
Turning to the outlook, exports are projected to continue to trend up mainly in IT-related goods amid the ongoing recovery in overseas economies, especially in the U.S. and East Asia. However, the pace of recovery is likely to become somewhat slower in the future than at present, as the effects from overseas restocking dissipate.