Spending by wage-earning households expanded a real 1.3 percent in October from a year earlier to 325,501 yen, marking the first increase in four months, the government said Tuesday.

But the average monthly income of salaried workers' households declined for the fourth straight month to 462,155 yen, down 0.1 percent in real terms from a year before, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said in a preliminary report.

Disposable income also fell for the fourth straight month, down a real 0.3 percent from a year before to 395,606 yen.

Spending on furniture and housing equipment jumped 26.5 percent to 11,437 yen and that on housing rose 3.6 percent to 20,717 yen.