Taxi drivers, waiters and workers in other sectors considered close to the man on the street in January were more pessimistic about the economy than in any other month since the government began conducting its so-called Economy Watchers poll a year earlier, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
The index of views on the economy's current status dropped to 41.5 in the reporting month, the lowest since January 2000 and down 2.9 points from December, it said.
The index stayed below the boom-or-bust line of 50 for the sixth consecutive month. Respondents are asked to rate on a five-point scale whether they think the economy is improving or worsening compared with three months earlier.