Average household spending in Japan fell a real 1.3 percent in November to 296,439 yen, marking the second straight year-on-year decrease, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
Average household spending is a key gauge of personal consumption, which accounts for 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
Expenditures for clothes and shoes dropped 12 percent, entertainment spending fell 6.2 percent, food outlays were down 1.6 percent and spending on furniture and household goods was down 2.9 percent.
In contrast, spending on transportation and communication rose 6.3 percent and education expenditures were up 7.4 percent.
Spending by salaried workers' households, which accounts for 60 percent of overall household spending, dropped a real 2.3 percent in November from a year earlier to an average of 312,376 yen following a 0.1 percent fall in October.
Average disposable income rose a real 1.3 percent while propensity to consume -- the ratio of spending to disposable income -- came to 82.2 percent, down from 85.2 percent in November 1999.
Average spending by other households gained a real 1 percent in the reporting month to 272,706 yen after a 0.2 percent rise in October.