Consumption among Younger People Stays Sluggish: Govt Report

Tokyo, Feb. 3 (Jiji Press)--Consumption among younger generations in Japan has remained weak since the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a government report released Friday.

The Cabinet Office report on recent economic trends showed that the propensity to consume, or the proportion of consumption spending to disposal income, has been falling among people under 35 years old while that among older people has been recovering since hitting bottom in early 2021.

Meanwhile, the average rate of younger people who answered they were saving for retirement in 2019-2021 surveys went up more than 20 percentage points from that in 2007-2009 surveys.

Observing that the younger generation's concerns about post-retirement life are the root cause of their stagnant consumption, the government agency calls for increasing lifetime wages and promoting the conversion of temp workers to regular employees to ease their anxieties.

It also underscores the importance of reforming the social security system so as to curb health and nursing care costs.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]