Japan’s unemployment may have hit 3-year low in October

Standard Chartered expects last month’s unemployment rate to come in at 4.1%.

Retail sales may have also declined by 1%, as sales of durable goods and goods sold in supermarket and convenience stores dipped slightly in October.

Here’s more from Standard Chartered:

Retail sector likely remained anaemic in October

We expect the unemployment rate to have remained at 4.1% in October, its lowest level since November 2008.

However, given that the data excludes the area affected by the March earthquake, we remain cautious about the national job market and expect little improvement in the coming months.

Nominal wages have been static in recent months, constraining employees’ income; as a result, we expect household spending to have continued to fall by 1% y/y in October. We expect retail sales to have declined by 1.0% m/m, as sales of durable goods and goods sold in supermarket and convenience stores dipped slightly in October after a surge in demand during the summer.

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