Japan Press Weekly

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2011 December 14 - 20 [WELFARE]

Statistics show how household income has declined

The government’s household economy surveys have shown that households are cutting back on their savings and consumption due to the lowering household income in the 11 years between 2000 and 2010.

In this survey, the income and expenditure of 9000 households are calculated every month.

Here, a working household with more than two people is surveyed for the 11 years, calculating the average monthly income and expenditure, and the savings rate.

In these 11 years, the total monthly income of the household declined by 42,062 yen from 562,754 yen to 520,692 yen. The household head’s income fell by 43,008 yen, and the spouse’s income increased by 3,168 yen but was far short of making up the loss of the household head’s loss of income.

Consumption expenditure declined from 341,896 yen to 318,315 yen, a decrease of 23,581 yen, and the average savings rate dropped from 18.6% to 17.9%.

These statistics suggest a picture of a household in which a husband’s income declined so his wife sought a new income source which was still not sufficient to make up for the income loss, so they were obliged to spend less and withdraw their savings bit by bit.