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Economy Watchers Index down in April; Restaurants to hike prices

May 13, 2008
By Ken Worsley


After having seen a slight recovery in March, the Cabinet Office announced on Monday that its monthly Economy Watchers Survey had seen a decline from 36.9 in March to 35.5 in April. This survey measures sentiment among workers who are particularly sensitive to economic trends, including taxi drivers, hotel staff and restaurant workers.

The Economy Watchers survey is measured as an index with a score above 50 indicating a positive view of the economy and a score below 50 representing a pessimistic overall view. Although April’s 35.5 score is below what was seen in March, it is slightly better than the scores registered in February (33.6) and January (31.8), when the survey hit its lowest level since December 2001. April 2008 was the 13th consecutive month with a score below 50.

One worrying sign is that the survey’s employment subindex dropped from 35.5 in March to 33.6 in April, which is its lowest level since February 2002.

In related news, a recent Nikkei survey found that 58% of restaurant operators plan to raise their prices in fiscal 2008. This would be an increase from the estimated 53% that raised prices in FY2007.

If that news has you down, 12% of pub and bar restaurants said that they intend to cut prices in FY2008.

Filed Under Cabinet Office, Economic Reports, Economy Watchers 

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Comments

One Response to “Economy Watchers Index down in April; Restaurants to hike prices”

  1. Cleet on May 15th, 2008 10:12 am

    One worrying sign is that the survey’s employment subindex dropped from 35.5 in March to 33.6 in April, which is its lowest level since February 2002.

    Employment conditions are being slowly eroded. On the one hand, we hear that more women are encouraged to work after birth, while at the same time the jobs on offer are continually less appeaing.

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