Japan Jobless, Deflation Data Beat Expectations
Thursday, October 29, 2009
TOKYO -- Japan's jobless rate fell to 5.3% in September from 5.5% in August, government data showed Friday, beating economists' consensus expectation of rise to 5.6%, according to a poll by Nikkei and Dow Jones Newswires. The rate hit a record high of 5.7% in July. Separate data showed Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food prices, fell 2.3% on year in September, less than the 2.4% drop economists had expected, but still down for the seventh straight month. Core consumer prices in Tokyo for October, considered a leading indicator of the next month's nationwide data, fell a record 2.2% on year.
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