Toyota Motor Corp. led a 19 percent drop in domestic vehicle sales in May as falling wages and rising unemployment kept people out of dealer showrooms.

Sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, fell to 178,503 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday. Toyota sold 80,503 units, excluding Lexus brand cars, down 24 percent. Honda Motor Co. posted a 4.5 percent gain and Nissan Motor Co. sold 9.1 percent fewer units.

The nation is struggling to spur consumer spending as wages fell for an 11th straight month in April and the jobless rate reached a five-year high. Still, the pace of decline in auto sales slowed last month from 32 percent in March and 29 percent in April as government tax incentives helped boost sales of Toyota Prius and Honda Insight gasoline-electric hybrid cars.

"More and more people are opting for hybrids to save money, given the current economic condition," said Ichiro Takamatsu, chief investment officer at Alphex Investments Co. in Tokyo. Rising oil prices this year will "further spur demand for cars with better fuel economy."

Toyota said May 8 it has received more than 80,000 orders for the revamped Prius. Honda's Insight has attracted 35,000 orders, the firm said May 21. Nissan said May 19 that orders for 14 fuel-efficient models, including the Cube and Tiida, rose about 30 percent in the preceding month.

The unemployment rate climbed to 5 percent in April, the government said last week, while household spending fell 1.3 percent in April.

Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to subsidize purchases of new fuel-efficient cars to spur sales as part of his ¥15.4 trillion economic stimulus program.

The program will be implemented after winning approval from the Diet. The government expects the subsidies to boost sales by 690,000 vehicles this fiscal year. Consumers who bought cars after April 10 when Aso announced the program are eligible.