The government Wednesday maintained its bullish assessment of the economy from the previous month, with officials citing recoveries in personal spending and exports.

"The economy is recovering at a moderate pace," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report for October.

The report does not include the wording "with the corporate sector as well as the household sector improving," which appeared in the September and August reports.

A Cabinet Office official said the deletion is intended to make the government's message simpler and represents no changes in its assessment.

The government has kept intact its upbeat view on the economy since Aug. 9, when it and the Bank of Japan declared the economy had emerged from a "soft patch" stemming from inventory adjustments in the information technology sector.

The office said in the October report that corporate profits are "improving," business investment is "increasing" and private consumption is "increasing moderately."

The employment situation is "improving on a broader basis, though some severe aspects remain." Exports are "picking up" and industrial production is "leveling off," the latest report says.

An increase in electric and general machinery exports to China led to a recovery of overall exports. Exports to China in August gained 2.1 percent from July, while those to Asia as a whole expanded 3.4 percent that month, the Cabinet Office said.