Spending by wage-earning households expanded a real 0.9 percent in November from a year earlier to 307,309 yen for the second straight monthly rise, the government said Tuesday.
But the average monthly income of salaried workers' households declined for the fifth straight month to 431,508 yen, down 1.4 percent in real terms, according to a preliminary report by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.
Disposable income also fell for the fifth straight month, to 365,707 yen, also down a real 1.4 percent.
The report says spending on education plunged 6.6 percent to 14,639 yen and spending on utilities fell 2.2 percent to 18,899 yen.
Wage-earners also cut back on purchases of furniture and other household goods by 1.0 percent to 10,321 yen. Spending on medical services fell 0.7 percent to 11,921 yen, and that for transportation and communications slipped 0.1 percent to 43,702 yen.
Spending on clothing and shoes, by contrast, leaped 16.6 percent to 16,276 yen, the highest growth since the 17.0 percent rise in September 1981.
Expenditures on cultural and entertainment activities rose 3.5 percent to 30,529 yen.