Decelerating business activity and deteriorating employment conditions show no signs of abating, the Finance Ministry said in a report Wednesday.

The report reflects the downward effect on the economy of the ongoing decline in global demand that has accelerated in the wake of the slowdown in the United States.

The economic assessment, reported to a meeting of the ministry's 11 regional financial bureaus, remains virtually unchanged from the previous assessment in October, although it cites the mounting severity of the problems at hand.

Capital investment plans of firms regardless of sector for the 2001 business year have shrunk from the previous term in all 11 financial bureau jurisdictions, the report says.

As a result, business sentiment has deteriorated in every region, according to the report.

The jurisdictions are the Kanto, Kinki, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, Tokai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Fukuoka, Kyushu and Okinawa regions.

In addition, consumer spending remains stagnant in several regions. Sales of home electric appliances dropped, reflecting shrinking demand for personal computers, the report says.

Tourist industry earnings suffered a heavy blow following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, according to the report.

Labor demand contracted further in numerous regions. On Tuesday, the government announced that the unemployment rate reached 5.6 percent in December.