Japan Data Show Resilience of Consumers Before Earthquake
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Japan’s unemployment rate fell in February and retail sales beat analysts’ forecasts, signs that the economy was picking up before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern regions.
The jobless rate unexpectedly slid to 4.6 percent from the previous month’s 4.9 percent, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for the rate to be unchanged. Retail sales rose 0.1 percent from a year earlier, beating forecasts for a 0.5 percent drop, the Trade Ministry said in a separate report.